Beijing: China on Thursday rejected reports
that about 200 children were buried under the debris of a
primary school that collapsed in the earthquake in western
part of the country.
Education Ministry spokesperson Xu Mei said the exact
number of children buried at the Third Primary School in Yushu
county, Qinghai Province, was unknown, but the number was
believed to be low.
Education officials were attempting to ascertain the
whereabouts of all the children who attended the school, Xu
was quoted as saying by the official `Xinhua` newsagency.
Education officials would do everything possible to
ensure casualties were kept to a minimum, said Xu.
Earlier today, Chinese media has reported teachers at
the school believed that about 200 children could be buried in
the rubble.
Heavy casualties were feared in schools as the
earthquake struck around 7.40 local time, just around the time
the students converge to attend the classes.
A statement issued by the ministry said education
authorities were ordered to work to resume classes and
reconstruct damaged school buildings as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, seven students were pulled alive from a
collapsed vocational school.
"We pulled out seven pupils alive from the debris of
the Khampa Central Primary School today. They are all of
Tibetan ethnic group," said Chen Guangbiao, a company`s board
chairman from eastern Jiangsu Province.
A trembler measuring 7.1-magnitude on Richter scale
hit the province in the Qinghai Tibetan plateau yesterday
almost flattening Jiegu township and leaving over 600 dead
and more than 10,000 injured.
PTI
