Thousands of Chinese earthquake victims fled areas near the epicentre on Saturday, fearful of potential floods from a river blocked by landslides.
Soldiers carried older people out of Beichuan town — one of the areas hit hardest by the magnitude 7.9 quake on Monday — while survivors cradled babies on a road jammed with vehicles and people. The death toll jumped to near 29,000.
A policeman told Associated Press that rescue officials were worried that water from the choked river would inundate the town.
“The river was jammed up by a landslide, now that may burst. That is what we are worried about,” the policeman said as he hurried by, not giving his name.
“I’m very scared. I heard that the water will be crashing down here,” said Liang Xiao, one of the people fleeing. “If that happens, there will be over 10 yards of water over our heads.”
The official Xinhua News Agency said earlier that a lake in Beichuan county “may burst its bank at any time,” without giving details on why the water was rising. Residents left homes for higher ground, but 46 seriously injured were still at risk, the agency said.
In what apparently was a similar landslide-blocked river, Xinhua said more than 2,000 people were being evacuated farther north near Qingchuan town, where blocked parts of the Qingzhu river formed a large stretch of water.
The confirmed death toll rose Saturday to 28,881, Cabinet spokesman Guo Weimin said.
But more than 10,600 people remained buried in Sichuan province, the regional government said, according to Xinhua. The government has previously said at least 50,000 people were believed killed in the disaster.
... contd.
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