(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-05-14 22:20

A file photo of Chen Jia.

A China Daily reporter who was on a mission near the epicenter of Monday's 7.8-magnitude earthquake and had lost contact with the Beijing headquarter for two days was confirmed safe Wednesday afternoon.

Chen Jia was on her way back from the Wolong Research Base of Panda Breeding in Wenchuan County when the killer quake struck.

Only eight kilometers away from the epicenter, the bus carrying Chen and eight other journalists was hit by rolling rocks from nearby hills and slid over.

Chen and others were trapped in the vehicle for three hours before being rescued by local residents.

Communication with the quake epicenter Wenchuan started to recover on Wednesday after bad weather and severe damages to ground traffic has cut off contact with the area for two days.

Chen was at a hospital for a health check in Dujiangyan near Chengdu Wednesday afternoon.