Rescuers help survivors in remote area overcome hardship

The remote mountainous regions in Sichuan are some of the most severely damaged areas. Communications and transportation links were cut off for many days. Our reporter Mao Xuzhi visited a quake-stricken village in the epicenter of Wenchuan, where a team of frontier armed police reached the village at the earliest possible time to help with the relief work.

The road from Dujiangyan to Wenchuan was open to traffic one week after the deadly earthquake. It's still under repair-- aftershocks, landslide, and heavy shower threatens road safety any time.

The road is the lifeline for Wenchuan, and all other villages inside the mountains. It is just through here that tons of relief materials are being sent into the quake-hit regions.

Damages left by the 8-magnitude earthquake remind all passers-by of the disastrous moment.

The tunnel remains vulnerable to landslide, aftershocks, and heavy shower. To ensure safety, only one vehicle can pass it each time.

It's hard to believe a team composed of rescuers arrived at the village of Yugong in Wenchuan County 3 days after the earthquake, when there's no road or tunnels available. They came here by special means-their foot.

The rescuer's initial task is to offer medical aid to villagers' in Yugong, who lost their homes and became physically and psychological traumatic after the earthquake. The rescuers' timely arrival and medical service help minimize further loss of local lives.

Sun Shouguang, Frontier Armed Police of Yunnan province said "We have walked here for 10 hours. There were no tour guide, no tents, and no roads. Till today, we have provided medical treatment to 3300 villagers, including the seriously injured and the pregnant."

The rescuers' team is composed of 150 armed police. Some are women. Medical assistance is its priority task. But it also offers helping hands whenever possible, such as taking care of the kids, and cooking voluntarily for the old.

This rescuer said he has been cooking 3 meals a day for all the seniors every day since the team came.

It's been a week since the rescuers' arrival. They have brought not just after-quake assistance, but also psychological comfort to the disaster-hit people. Such a role gives locals confidence to bring life to normal.

One villager of Yugong Village of Wenchuan said "They helped us with everything, providing medical treatment, and taking care of the young and old. I hope they can station here for a longer time to help us overcome the hard time and rebuild our homeland."

The rescuers say they will station in the village as long as they are needed. They hope their work will help, step by step, heal local resident's scars left by the earthquake.