(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-05-19 15:04

More than 200 relief workers in the quake-stricken Sichuan Province have been buried in mud flows over the past three days, said Dai Dongchang, an official with the ministry.

Details of the accidents were not immediately available. It was unclear whether anyone was killed or injured.

Dai said this at an online interview with the central government website (www.gov.zn) and he is not immediately available for comment.

Two construction machines and six vehicles were also buried in the mud flows, he said.

Landslide, mudflows and aftershocks were frequent after the deadly quake which killed more than 30,000 people. Blocked rivers swollen by heavy rain threatened to burst their banks.

Dai said relief workers risked their lives repairing three major roads connecting the epicenter Wenchuan and neighbouring counties to the outside world. By Monday, traffic had resumed on the three roads.

By Monday roads leading to more than 100 quake-hit towns and villages had also been repaired and opened to traffic, he said.

According to initial calculations by Sichuan Province, economic losses caused by road destruction amounted to 15 billion yuan (US$2.2 billion), said Dai.