The death toll from the 7.8 magnitude quake in the Sichuan Province rose to 22,069 while 1,68,669 people were injured.

Mr. Hu first visited quake victims in Shengli Village, Leigu Town of Beichuan. More than 1,000 out of the 18,000 population in Leigu Town died or were missing in the quake. Mr. Hu went into a tent to talk to one family. Seeing the man’s daughter was injured in the quake, he said, “We know you’ve suffered. The quake destroyed your house and injured members of your family. We feel your anguish. The whole Party, Army and all the people have been mobilised to support the quake relief work.”

PHOTO: XINHUA

PERSEVERANCE PAYS: First-aid being administered to a middle school student Yang Hong, who had been buried underneath the school building's debris for 60 hours in Beichuan County, Sichuan Province.

Then Mr. Hu told people standing along the road, “We will make every effort to rescue stranded people, treat the injured and make proper arrangements for the victims, as well as helping you to rebuild your homes.” He encouraged the victims to be strong and overcome difficulty with confidence, courage and strength.

He then went to the Beichuan Middle School, where all the teaching buildings collapsed in the quake.

Knowing there were still 300 teachers and students buried in the ruins, Mr. Hu said, “Saving lives is still an urgent task. We should rescue them by every possible means as long as there is a glimmer of hope.” He also praised the troops conducting rescue work. “You came to the frontline immediately, and threw yourself into the rescue work regardless of your own safety and made a great contribution. You have given hope, confidence and strength to the quake-affected people.”

PHOTO: XINHUA

An aerial view of the road from Dujiangyan city to Wenchuan County in southwest China's Sichuan Province destroyed in a landslip caused by Monday's earthquake. The devastation of the road affected the transportation of rescue teams and relief materials to the disaster areas.

The Chinese President visited a sports centre, where more than 10,000 disaster-affected people were rehabilitated. He thanked the volunteers for their contribution to the rescue work. He also visited the Mianyang City Central Hospital, telling the medics to make every effort to treat the injured.

Reasons

At Mianyang City Premier Wen Jiabao, who had been directing relief work in the disaster-hit areas since Monday, met Mr. Hu. The two leaders discussed the relief work. The meeting said “rescuers must reach not only towns but also all villages.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) has ordered local authorities to investigate the reasons why school buildings collapsed in the earthquake, said Yang Rong, director of the MOHURD’s department of standards and norms, in an online interview.

“If quality problems do exist in the school buildings, we will deal with the persons responsible strictly with no tolerance and give the public a satisfying answer,” said Han Jin, a Ministry of Education official. The 7.8-magnitude quake that struck Sichuan on Monday was known to have destroyed 2,16,000 structures in the province, including 6,898 school buildings, as of Wednesday, according to incomplete calculations, said Mr. Han. The quake hit at 2:28 p.m., when students were in class, leading to relatively severe fatalities among teachers and students, said Mr. Han <<back