More troops rush in to help China quake rescue

(Changes dateline, adds details, economic impact, quotes)

By Ben Blanchard

MIANYANG, China, May 14 (Reuters) - China poured more troops into the earthquake-ravaged province of Sichuan on Wednesday to quicken a search for survivors as time ran out for thousands of people still buried under rubble and mud.

Some 30,000 troops will join 20,000 already digging through rubble in the southwestern province, where Monday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake crumpled homes, schools and hospitals, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a Ministry of Defence spokesman.

Across the region there were clusters of weary survivors and rescuers pulling at tangled chunks of buildings and peering into crevices in hopes of finding someone still alive.

Attention also turned to survivors themselves, many of whom are without food and shelter in pouring rain.

"I've had nothing to eat since last night. I've only been given some bread and a bottle of water for my child," said Bai Chenchu, in the devastated Sichuan city of Mianyang.

Survivors there sought shelter in a sports ground that quickly became filthy as thousands gathered.

The national death toll from the quake has climbed past 13,000 and is likely to rise steeply after media said 19,000 people were buried in rubble in the Mianyang area of Sichuan alone.

A near-overwrought Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was shown on state television scrambling over the remains of a collapsed school and using a bullhorn to urge on rescuers.

"At present the number one thing is still saving people," Wen told local officials, according to Xinhua. "All collapsed buildings must be fully checked. If there is a glimmer of hope, then put everything into rescuing."

The quake, the worst to hit China since 1976 when up to 300,000 died, has muffled upbeat government propaganda three months ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games.

It has also quelled criticism from abroad over recent unrest in Tibet, with images of the human tragedy and heroic rescue efforts spurring offers of aid and an outpouring of sympathy.

China's stock market has weakened following Monday's earthquake partly on fears that it could add to inflation, which is already at a 12-year high, but economists say the added price pressures are unlikely to be lasting or widespread.

The quake's epicentre, north of the provincial capital, Chengdu, has little manufacturing. And while the region accounts for more than 9 percent of China's rice output, the earthquake largely devastated a steep and rainy area that is mainly known for oranges, peppercorn and vegetables.

Metals plants near Chongqing, which account for about 4.5 percent of China's aluminium capacity, saw little damage. Several power plants that were shut down or disconnected from the grid after the quake have resumed normal operations and Petrochina restarted a major oil pipeline after a one-day stoppage.

SHELTER

Premier Wen was to tour Beichuan county on Wednesday, where at least 1,000 students and teachers were buried under a seven-storey school. Rows of apartment blocks there collapsed.

"Beichuan has just disappeared. There's nothing left," said Li Changqing, a salesman in Mianyang, the area's city centre.

Beichuan county alone was in urgent need of 50,000 tents, 200,000 blankets and 300,000 coats, as well as drinking water and medicine, Xinhua said.

The depth of destruction in many towns across the mountainous area suggested searchers would find many more bodies than survivors among the toppled buildings.

Rain has frustrated rescuers' efforts to get to some areas and more rain is forecast for coming days.

"Everything became very difficult last night with the rain. There are a lot of people with no place to go," said Kate Janis, a programme director with the aid organisation Mercy Corps.

"There are still tremors, so everyone is staying outside until we know it's completely safe," said Mianyang resident Ren Gaorui.

State media reported devastation in villages near the epicentre in Wenchuan, a remote county cut off by landslides about 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Chengdu. About 60,000 people were unaccounted for across Wenchuan, authorities said.

Amid the overwhelming grief, there were also moments of relief when survivors were found. In Mianzhu, where rescuers said the death toll had risen to 3,000, about 500 people were pulled out alive from crushed buildings.

A group of 31 British tourists visiting a panda reserve in the stricken area were unharmed, China's Foreign Ministry said.

Overnight, Chinese President Hu Jintao spoke about the earthquake, as well as Tibet and other subjects, with U.S. President George W. Bush.

Hu told Bush that Chinese people "deeply grieved" the massive loss of life in the earthquake, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on its Web site (www.fmprc.gov.cn).

The People's Bank of China said it was providing 5.5 billion yuan ($786.7 million) to local banks in Sichuan and Gansu provinces to help disaster relief and reconstruction there.

Central authorities have ordered stricken areas to ensure food supplies and price stability. But some Chinese news reports described price hikes and shortages in quake-hit areas.

(Writing and additional reporting by Chris Buckley and Lindsay Beck in Beijing; Editing by Ken Wills and John Chalmers)