Hannah Fletcher, and Sophie Yu in Libing
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Pictures of earthquake clear-up | British survivors tales
A powerful aftershock struck the devastated Chinese province of Sichuan today as authorities admitted that almost 5 million people had been left homeless by Monday’s earthquake.
The ferocity of the initial quake left as many as 50,000 dead and the latest tremor came as the Chinese military began the grim task of digging mass graves into the Sichuan hillsides.
Anonymous burial sites were the only remaining option as the massive rescue mission morphed into a grisly clean-up operation.
“The authorities asked us to bury the bodies quickly because they have been dead for several days. There is no time to waste. It's already been quite a long time and now the weather is starting to get warmer,” on official told The Times at the site of a mass grave in Libing.
The 50-metre-long trenches were being dusted with lime by young soldiers masked against the stench, but officers admitted they had no idea how many bodies were waiting to be buried.
Measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale, today's earthquake hit Lixian, in Sichuan province, west of the original epicentre in Wenchuan. Recently cleared roads were cut off once again, and newly repaired phone connections were destroyed.
Four days later, today's aftershock added another hazard: landslides.
The Chinese state news agency, Xinhua, said it was not clear how many people had been killed or injured in the latest tremor.
“[It] lasted about ten seconds and reporters saw rocks sliding from nearby mountains," the agency reported. "A number of vehicles were buried in landslides. The casualties were not known."
The aftershock came just hours after Hu Jintao, the Chinese President, arrived in the quake zone to reinvigorate a rescue operation in which miracles are becoming fewer and farther between. The official death toll has risen to 22,069 with some predictions that the final figure could be more than 50,000.
Arriving in Mianyang, one of the worst-hit cities in Sichuan province, Mr Hu said: “The challenge is still daunting, the task is still arduous and the time pressing.”
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I sincerely hope you western media report China earthquake disaster with justice and objectivity.
Please put your eyes on what we are suffering and what we have done now.Facing this overwhelming disaster, saving people's lives is most important thing at present.
Matthew, Nanjing, China
Thanks all the people who support China sincerely .
We believe our government .They've try their best,and everything will be well.
magie, GuangZhou, China
We have no power to choose such natural calamity but we can choose attitude toward disaster.
Life is fragile and always changes. 80hours ago, people still had their normal life but now they are fighting for their life with limit time. Every TV picture touches our inner heart soul feeling. All aid and donation relieve victims and us cohesiveness together to overcome the disaster.
s leung, melrose, scotland
Our hearts go out to all those who have lost children,parents, brothers, sisters, grandchildren , other relatives and friends in the devastating earthquake in Sichuan. God grant them comfort in their distress and courage to face the future.
Roy Petty, Swansea, U.K.
Pray for those suffering the disaster.
It could be the year of challenges. And we will face it bravely, fight it back, and show the world we are still standing.
Jin, Nanjing, China
Hold on China! we are surprised of your courage and your strong feeling to save lives. Do not forget who is still alive, living outside, shocked inside. No earth-quake shall destroy people if international community is running and helping them, as it is now for you. Hold on! God bless you.
Fiamma, Torino, Italy
Thanks for all the concern and contributions. This is is a great tragedy.... But we will try our best to help those who suffer and as long as there's hope, we will continue to help. And we do see the great efforts of our government.
Weiwei, Shenzhen, China
i belive all chinese people can overcome this big chalenge and identify our capability.
ginny, chongqing, china
AS a chinese who have never been abroad ,I do want to say"don't blame china on everything!"
We may not need your sympathy or donations,but we do need understanding from the international society .HUMAN RIGHTS here is improving steadily.WE CAN FEEL THAT.
fandong, qingdao, china
190,000 troops are being used for the rescue out of over 2.2million men/women in the PLA. Do they really need 2million to stand by doing nothing to protect the communist party leaders? It is communist party members who should be lynched not the builders or the architects. The Chinese never learn.
John Sinclair, Dundee, UK
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