Workers work around the clock to repair the destroyed road connecting Lushan county to Lingguan township of Baoxing, one of the worst hit areas by the earthquake, on Sunday morning. Though the several landslides on this narrow road after the earthquake on Saturday didn’t allow many engineering vans to work at the same time, the road is expected to be re-opened at noon on Sunday. This road is the only way leading to Lingguan, where the necessary medicines and other relief goods are urgently needed in this small town. [Photo/Xinhua]

LUSHAN, Sichuan - First rescuers have reached an isolated county in Southwest China's Sichuan province hit by Saturday's strong earthquake, said the police sources here Sunday.

The detailed situation in Baoxing County of Ya'an in Sichuan, badly hit by the earthquake, was not clear due to poor quality of communication between the field rescuers and headquarters, said the rescue headquarters of the Ministry of Public Security in Lushan.

Rescuers, mainly made up of firemen, hiked into the county where communication and transportation were seriously affected, the police source said.

More than 870 rescuers have been sent there but part of them been stranded on the way, while another team of rescuers are trying to reach the county by boat, the source said.

A total of 164 people have been confirmed dead in the 7.0-magnitude earthquake so far, according to the China Earthquake Administration.