Gansu quake victims pulled to safety amid freezing cold

Focus shifts to treating wounded, resettling residents; aftershocks closely tracked

HAIDONG, Qinghai - Braving below-freezing conditions, rescuers pulled to safety victims of an earthquake that rocked a remote area in China's north-western Gansu province more than a day ago, while survivors faced months of uncertainty ahead without permanent shelter.

The magnitude-6.2 earthquake jolted Jishishan county near the border straddling Gansu and Qinghai provinces a minute before midnight on Dec 18, sending frightened residents out of their homes into the cold in the dead of the night.

It damaged roads, power and water lines, and agricultural production facilities, as well as triggered landslides and mudslides.

In Gansu, 113 people had been found dead as at 9am on Dec 20, and 782 were injured, the authorities said.

The death toll in Qinghai province rose to 18, with 198 injured as at 5.30am on Dec 20.

Seventy-eight people have been found alive in Gansu, where rescue operations ended on the afternoon of Dec 19, state and local media said, as focus shifted to treating the wounded and resettling residents as a months-long winter loomed.

It was not immediately clear whether the search in Qinghai had ended or not.

In Gansu, more than 207,000 homes were wrecked and nearly 15,000 houses collapsed, affecting more than 145,000 people.

More than 128,000 emergency supply items, including tents, quilts, tent lights and folding beds, were delivered, while food such as steamed buns and instant noodles were provided to the victims, state television CCTV said.