CHINA:A STRONG aftershock felt throughout the Sichuan earthquake zone caused landslides at Wenchuan, a town close to the epicentre of the quake, hampering relief efforts and reminding people on the ground that this horrendous catastrophe might not yet have run its course.
Measuring 5.5 on the Richter Scale, the aftershock cut off sections of the roads which had only just re-opened, burying cars and trucks and adding to the woes of the people of this blighted province. The aftershocks continued into the evening.
While survivors were still being pulled from the rubble, even after being buried for four days, the number of dead keeps rising. The government has raised the official death toll to 21,500, but said fatalities could rise above 50,000. Tens of thousands are still thought to be buried in collapsed buildings in Sichuan, rescuers believe.
President Hu Jintao flew into the disaster zone for the first time today and rallied the vast relief operation of some 130,000 soldiers and police.
"The challenge is still severe, the task is still arduous and the time is pressing. Earthquake relief work has entered into the most crucial phase. We must make every effort, race against time and overcome all difficulties to achieve the final victory of the relief efforts," he said.
Details were emerging yesterday of just how badly this earthquake has affected the children of Sichuan. At Juyuan Middle School in Dujiangyan, 700 students died when the building collapsed. In Mianzhu, close to where Mr Hu arrived, seven fallen schools buried 1,700 people, according to the Xinhua news agency, and about 1,300 bodies have been recovered so far.
Another 700 students were thought to be buried in a school in Hanwang town. Farther north in Beichuan, about 700 students were also still buried.
The fate of the Juyuan Middle School and hundreds more around the province nearly 7,000 classrooms in total - highlights a feeling that building standards for schools are poor. Nature was responsible for the earthquake, but penny-pinching or corrupt bureaucrats are behind the poor construction of the buildings, the locals feel.
"Why did our school collapse but that building stays up," asked one parent on the day after the quake destroyed the school, pointing to another nearby building, hysterical with grief. Others standing around nodding in angry agreement - the feeling that the poor get shoddy buildings while the privileged get earthquake-proofed buildings is strong. This sentiment is echoed at sites around the earthquake zone.
Han Jin, head of the ministry of education's development and planning department, said the government would investigate building standards in schools.
"If quality problems do exist in the school buildings, we will punish those responsible severely and give the public a satisfactory answer," said Mr Han.
According to the US Geological Survey, the latest tremor measured magnitude 5.5 and was centred 6.2 miles below the surface, similar to Monday's quake in that it was relatively shallow quake.
The first international relief workers in the disaster zone when a Japanese team landed. China initially was reluctant to accept foreign aid, but the Foreign Ministry said early yesterday that specialist teams from Russia, South Korea and Singapore were welcome.
This was the first time China accepted outside professionals for domestic disaster relief, foreign ministry official Li Wenliang said.
The next problem could be more rain. The ministry of land and resources warned that heavy rains forecast for the next few days would likely set off new landslides. The ministry said on its website local authorities "must immediately mark off danger zones" to ensure rescue workers' safety.
Even among the devastation, there are glimpses of happier times ahead. Luo Yu is excited about coming to Dujiangyan to see his parents and his 10-month-old twin boys Dingding and Dangdang. " I haven't been able to get in and see them yet, but they're okay," he says.
A nation's heart ripped apart: Weekend