Rescuers search for survivors after China's quake
The 5.8-magnitude tremor, which jolted Yingjiang County of Yunnan Province near the border with Myanmar, has left 25 people dead and 250 others injured.
The county has a population of 300,000 people and is home to many ethnic groups.
The youngest victim was 3 years old. Among those killed were five students. Doctors said 134 people were seriously injured.
The earthquake destroyed more than 18,000 houses and damaged around 50,000 others.
Rescuers were ordered to search every damaged building for survivors.
Gao Lei, a 21-year-old firefighter, staggered through the debris of Yongsheng Hotel along with five fellow firefighters and three sniffer dogs.
"We haven't found any sign of people buried here," said Gao.
"Though, we found three people buried in an adjacent tailor's shop. They are safe now," he said.
Many soldiers used their hands to dig through the rubble as machines could not be operated there.
More than 6,100 people, including soldiers, police officers, medical staff, and civilians, have participated in the rescue operation, saving at least 40 trapped people and sending more than 200 injured people to hospital.
The county needs 5,000 more tents for the homeless, said Zhao Jin, Party chief of Dai-Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture of Dehong, which administers Yingjiang.
The provincial and local governments have earmarked 23 million yuan (3.49 million U.S. dollars) in emergency aid to the quake-hit regions.
About 60 injured people have to stay in tents and 74 others were transferred to other hospitals for surgery as part of the hospital's building was damaged and power supply has not been fully resumed there, Zhang said.
Experts have not ruled out the possibility that stronger quakes might hit the region and they could not say that the first magnitude-5.8 tremor was the main quake. Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.xinhuanet.com for full version
