Chinese army, armed police fan out to Yunnan quake-hit villages to aid relief

BEIJING - Chinese soldiers and armed police officers are fanning out to the worst-hit counties and villages as they race to save lives following the 6.5-magnitude earthquake that left close to 400 people dead in Southwest China's Yunnan province.

Some 10,000 troops pooled from the People's Liberation Army (PLA)'s Chengdu, Beijing Military Area Command, the air force, the second artillery force and the armed police are joining forces with local rescuers in Ludian, Qiaojia and Huize counties, said a statement from the Chengdu Military Area Command's quake relief headquarters.

They include 13 medical teams and four disease prevention units which have set up field hospitals and medical aid stations in all three counties.

By Tuesday morning, PLA troops and armed police officers had rescued more than 200 people from the rubble, transferring 500 people injured during the earthquake to nearby hospitals. In addition, they have helped resettle more than 10,000 local residents, the statement said.

At least 398 people were killed and more than 1,800 injured in the earthquake that struck at 4:30 p.m. Sunday (Beijing Time) with a depth of 12 km. About 230,000 people had been evacuated as of late Monday.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is currently in Yunnan's quake-hit area to supervise quake relief work.