08/09/2012 11:04
Number of earthquake victims in China reached 80
Authorities poured aid into a remote mountainous area of southwestern China and rescue workers with sniffer dogs searched for survivors Saturday after twin earthquakes killed at least 80 people.
More than 100,000 residents were evacuated after Friday's quakes toppled thousands of homes and sent boulders cascading across roads in a region of small farms and mines where some of China's poorest people live.
The damage was preventing rescuers from reaching outlying towns, and communications were disrupted after the midday quakes hit along the borders of Guizhou and Yunnan provinces. But state television said Saturday that a road into the worst-hit area that had been blocked with fallen boulders was cleared, allowing workers and assistance in.