More than 20,000 survivors rescued Thursday

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-05-16 10:02

BEIJING-- More than 20,000 stranded survivors were rescued in quake-hit Sichuan Province in southwest China by armed forces on Thursday alone.

Meanwhile, the roads to the epicenter Wenchuan County and worst-hit Beichuan County had been cleared.

Rescue workers carry a survivor from a collapsed building at the earthquake-hit Beichuan county, Sichuan province, May 15, 2008. The death toll from China's massive earthquake could reach more than 50,000, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday, quoting rescue headquarters. [Agencies]

As of 10:00 am on Thursday, 64,040 victims had been hospitalized in Sichuan after a massive quake rocked this area. Among them, 12,587 patients were severely injured, Gao Qiang, deputy minister of health, said at a press conference here on Thursday.

Troops were poured into the worst-hit regions to repair roads connecting the epicenter.

As of 9:00 pm Thursday, road from Lixian to Wenchuan had been cleared. Three hours earlier, road from Mianzhu to Beichuan, the other worst-hit region, had been cleared.

As of 8:00 am Thursday, more than 130,000 troops were engaged in rescue operations in areas ravaged by the quake.

Also, by Thursday morning, rescuers had reached all 58 counties and towns stricken by Monday's massive quake.