Feature: Rescuers battle against odds in NW township after quake, sand boil

XINING, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- It was getting dark and the temperature had plummeted, but people in a village struck by Monday's earthquake in northwest China were still waiting in the icy wind, as rescuers on the other side of a safety cordon continued to race against time in their bid to save more lives.

"My family assured me that they were safe after the earthquake, but now they are all buried," said a man surnamed Yang in Jintian village of Zhongchuan Township in northwest China's Qinghai Province.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake with a focal depth of 10 km jolted Gansu Province and the neighboring Qinghai at 11:59 p.m. Monday, killing 113 and 18 people, respectively, in the two provinces.

The tremor triggered a sand boil in Zhongchuan early on Tuesday morning. Some villagers lucky enough to survive the quake were buried as a result of this sand boil. Xinhua reporters on the scene on Tuesday afternoon saw that many houses in Jintian village were toppled or buried in mud as deep as three meters.

As of 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, Qinghai had reported 16 people missing. In Jintian, nine people from two households were yet to be found.

Wang Lyu, deputy head of the Qinghai team of China's National Fire and Rescue Administration, told Xinhua that a total of 157 rescuers were busy working there, with many digging in the mud with spades and shovels because it was not possible for big excavating machines to reach the rescue site.

Among the villagers watching at the site, the emotional Yang pointed at a two-storey building, saying that his family ran into the yard after the quake, and were then buried unexpectedly when the sand boil struck.

"My granny, my mom, my aunt and a toddler are all buried," he said. "We only know that they are here, but have no idea of the exact location."

By the time dusk fell in the village, the temperature had already dropped to 10 below zero Celsius. Zhang Xiaoqiang, Party chief of Zhongchuan, told Xinhua that despite the efforts of local cadres to persuade them to leave, some villagers insisted on staying outside a tent erected to provide shelter, choosing instead to wait for updates from rescuers while they sobbed out in the cold.

"At least we can cook them some food to keep them warm," he said, while staff next him were cooking noodles in a big pot.

At a resettlement site in a local primary school, evacuated villagers were queuing to receive blood pressure tests and psychological counseling.

According to Zhou Yonggui, head of a local hospital, they sent a 20-member team of experts to the site on Tuesday afternoon to provide medical care to those in need.

Apart from the school buildings, some villagers were also being housed in eight blue tents on the school playground, while emergency supplies such as instant noodles and milk were piled up nearby. "Local government provided us with quilts and food, so that we could feel a bit relieved," said villager He Yongde.

In the darkness of night, lights in the school building were functional thanks to the successful restoration of the power supply. In Jintian village, searchlights lit up the rescue venue, while villagers watched, warmed by campfires.

"We cannot stop," Wang Lyu said while looking with red eyes at those waiting for miracles. "They will have hope for as long as we are here."