Waiting, watching and hoping after deadly quake

Source: Xinhua | 05-13-2008 21:46

By Xinhua Writers Bai Xu and Ding Jing

BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale rocked southwest China's Sichuan Province and was felt in many other parts of the country on Monday afternoon, leaving more than 12,000 dead.

As rescue and relief operations continue, some people are nervously waiting and some are busy searching.

Some of those for whom they wait and search may have vanished forever.

WAITING IN TEARS

The night for Li Yunxi was as almost long as a year.

Working in a film-production company in Beijing, the 31-year-old was suddenly alerted to the news of Sichuan earthquake on Monday afternoon.

She managed to contact her father in Mianzhu City, which is less than 50 kilometers from the epicenter Wenchuan. He told her by cell phone that he rushed down from the fifth floor and found some doors in the apartment building distorted by the quake.

Li's mother, an official with the local educational bureau, has been out of touch for more than 24 hours.

"She was visiting schools when the quake occurred. The newspapers say at least 200 students were buried in two schools toppled in the quake, is she among the victims?" Li wondered, weeping.

Li's uncle received a phone call from her mother's colleague late on Monday evening. The signal was weak, and all he heard was "she has been rushed to Deyang."

The uncle attempted to drive there immediately, but the car was out of petroleum, and so were the gas stations.

"I couldn't close my eyes the whole night. I am dying to know if she is hurt, or rather, is she still alive at all?" said Li.

Li is one of many who couldn't sleep on Monday night.

In Mianzhu, more than 2,000 people were reported dead as of Tuesday afternoon. Among them was Xian Guifen's husband.

"I witnessed the building of the Bank of China collapse amid screams from the inside," passer-by Li Defang said, shivering at the memory.

Xian's husband was in the building. Her family is waiting at the site for recovery of his body.