China forced to wait for draining of quake lake

The largest "quake lake" formed by China's most devastating earthquake in decades is not expected to start draining until Thursday due to a lack of rain, state media said.

Landslides caused by the May 12 quake have blocked the flow of rivers, forming more than 30 unstable "quake lakes" that threaten hundreds of thousands of people downstream.

Hundreds of troops working around the clock to defuse the threat of the largest lake, Tangjiashan, had retreated to safe areas after opening a giant sluice to drain the water once it rises about five more metres (just over 16 ft), the People's Daily said.

The earthquake in the southwestern province of Sichuan has killed 69,019 people and displaced more than 15 million, according to official figures on Monday. The death toll is likely to rise significantly with 18,627 still listed as missing.

The water level at Tangjiashan was 735.78 metres on Monday, only 1.24 metres higher than a day earlier, because of a lack of rain and multiple leaks on the natural dam made of mud and rock, the newspaper said.

"The floodwaters may not overflow to reach the sluice until the morning of June 5," it quoted experts as saying.

Some 210,000 residents downstream on the Jianjiang River have been evacuated to higher ground according to a contingency plan that foresees one third of the dam bursting.

Authorities have installed remote-controlled cameras on the dam and along the sluice to monitor the waters.

Thousands of rescuers have yet to find the wreckage of a military helicopter that crashed on May 31 in Yingxiu, an area of high mountains and valleys near the quake's epicentre.

There were 19 people aboard the helicopter, including 14 injured quake survivors and medical workers and five crew. It lost contact amid cloudy weather and after encountering strong turbulence on its 64th quake relief mission.

Relief workers face a daunting task in offering food and shelter to the homeless, treating the nearly 12,000 people still in hospital and rebuilding ravaged infrastructure.

Tent cities and rows of pre-fabricated houses are going up all over the area and the Health Ministry says it can guarantee there will be no epidemics.

In Mianzhu, one of the worst-hit areas, volunteer workers from the southern province of Guizhou have left hundreds upon hundreds of roses and other flowers for survivors at a main intersection and at a nearby sports stadium.

"The government in Beijing has already given them food and basic needs," said Yan, 38. "We want to give the people some spiritual encouragement. The most important thing they need is comfort."