BEIJING, Sept. 6 – A magnitude-6.8 earthquake jolted Luding County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 12:52 of September 5. In the past two days, the PLA Western Theater Command steadfastly implemented the important instructions made by President Xi Jinping, immediately activated the contingency plan, and at the same time, ordered the Army and Air Force troops under the theater command, the Tibet Military Command and the Xining Joint Logistics Support Center to be prepared to join the rescue operations.
Upon receiving order, a service support brigade under a Group Army stationed in Sichuan dispatched 200 troops carrying rescue equipment to rush to the epicenter. The Sichuan Provincial Military Command sent 300 PLA service members and militiamen to the seriously-hit Yanzigou town and Lengqi town in Luding County, where they searched for survivals in the debris, transferred local residents and set up tents for quake victims and other tasks.
Nearly 400 troops from the People's Armed Police (PAP) Sichuan Corps arrived at the seriously-hit Moxi town and Detuo towns in Luding at about 15:00, Sept. 5. The army service stations under the Tibet Military Command have sent out 12 cooking trailers and carrier vehicles and about 100 service members carrying tents to hurry to the quake-stricken area to provide logistics support for the rescuers.
As of 17:00 Sept. 6, more than 2,700 PLA and PAP troops and militiamen under the Western Theater Command have been put in the quake relief work. So far, they have evacuated 3,951 local residents, provided treatment to 270 wounded, unblocked over 2,990 meters of road, set up nearly 1,000 tents and delivered 293 tons of supplies.
The Western Theater Command is ready to provide more support, in case the quake-hit area requires so.