(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-15 07:10

BEICHUAN, Sichuan: Swarms of soldiers and civilians continued to scour through rubble in search of survivors in Beichuan Wednesday, a mountainous county in northern Sichuan province that was devastated by Monday's earthquake.

The county, about 160 km northwest of the epicenter at Wenchuan, was reduced to rubble by the quake, with about 80 percent of buildings razed.

Five cranes carefully removed floor slabs at Beichuan Middle School yesterday morning as rescuers cleared rubble beneath it in a bid to find young survivors.

At least 1,000 students were buried when the six-story school collapsed.

"When we first arrived, we could hear occasional cries for help from the ruins," a Xinhua reporter said. He arrived on the scene yesterday morning. "But as time went by, the cries lowered to whispers and we feared the children were dying."

About 2,000 students, parents and villagers have not left the campus since rushing to the site.

Teenage hero

Zhu Fumin, a senior high school student, was hailed a hero for his calmness, courage and wisdom in helping to save 33 young lives.

The 15-year-old ordered everyone to "lie prone" when the quake first jolted their classroom, his classmate Dai Yingying said.

Most of the teenagers heeded his advice and quickly ducked under their desks.

In the darkness some began to scream and cry.

"Zhu told us to stay calm and not to get exhausted," Dai said. "He said 'be brave, young men, stop crying, girls'."

In a few minutes the students calmed down.

When some students used their mobile phones as torches, they discovered the ceiling had caved in on them.

Several students who did not move fast enough were pinned between the ceiling and their desks.

Zhang Li, the girl who sat next to Dai, had passed out underneath the slab.

Dai reached out to pinch her, hoping to snap her back into consciousness.

"She woke up for a moment, but she couldn't breathe and was soon unconscious again," Dai said.

In about an hour, Dai heard noises outside the debris and found a little hole where a ventilator had been removed.

He shouted through the hole for help and discovered that teachers and students, who had been on the playground at the time of the tremor, were digging furiously.

Zhu and another boy joined them and with all their might dug a hole in a wall through which 33 escaped.

Nine of the trapped students were confirmed dead, Long Mingquan, a school teacher, said

County 'disappeared'

Zhu Guiping felt lucky he didn't shut the classroom door on Monday afternoon, because 80 percent of his students escaped the three-story crush through it.

The teacher of Qushan Primary School in Beichuan was about to start class when he heard a bang.

"I sensed danger and yelled 'Earthquake, get out'," he said.

The school, built at the foot of a mountain, rocked so wildly that no one could keep their feet on the playground.

"I laid down myself," Zhu said. "The ground was moving and I felt as light as a tree leaf. In a minute or two, I thought the ground cracked and I lost consciousness."

When he came to he realized he had lost his glasses.

"I rubbed my eyes and saw the whole county had disappeared. Not a single house remained standing."

He stood up and found children and teachers had been buried in the rubble.

"I felt helpless. No one was around to help, so I used my hands to dig out whoever was within reach."

20-day-old survivor

Ma Yunxiang's family huddled together in a tent on the outskirts of Beichuan yesterday, counting their blessings.

His wife, Wang Shifang, was feeding their 20-day-old son, when the disaster struck.

"My legs and waist were buried in the ruins when I tried to run out of the door with the child," Wang said.

Her husband and her brother and sister, who happened to be visiting them at the time, managed to free them.

"My son was suffocating and his face turned purple, but thank heavens he's alive," Wang said.

The parents decided to name the baby Ma Zhenchuan, with "zhen" standing for quake and "chuan" for Beichuan.

China Daily-Xinhua