Chinese man pulled to safety eight days after quake

A man was pulled alive from the rubble of a power plant on Tuesday, eight days after China's deadly earthquake and just hours after predictions of another tremor sent thousands running on to streets in terror.

Ma Yuanjiang was rescued in Wenchuan county, epicenter of the May 12 quake in mountainous Sichuan province, after 179 hours buried in the rubble, state media said.

His rescue came as authorities tried to restore calm in the provincial capital, Chengdu, after tens of thousands rushed into the streets alarmed by a television prediction of another powerful earthquake.

That, along with fresh aftershocks and forecast heavy rain, compounded the difficulties for military, government and private workers trying to ensure millions of homeless are fed and housed.

Anger was building among bereaved parents in Sichuan over the way many school buildings had collapsed, burying whole classrooms full of children. In one town, in a rare public protest, hundreds demanded punishment for anyone guilty of shoddy construction.

Chengdu residents rushed from their homes before midnight on Monday, alarmed by the prediction of another earthquake after the 7.9 magnitude tremor on May 12.

Hundreds of aftershocks have been felt over the past week, bringing down more buildings and causing landslides. A few hours after the television report, a 5-magnitude tremor was felt.

But on Tuesday, provincial television screened interviews with a series of seismological bureau officials to explain the prediction and calm a jangled populace.

"Just because you can feel aftershocks, it doesn't mean they will hurt you. Of course, that doesn't mean you should stand in harm's way," said Han Weiding, researcher with the local seismological bureau.

ANGER OVER SCHOOLS

The pandemonium showed how nerves have been stretched to breaking point by the main quake and its aftershocks, now known to have killed more than 34,000 and injured 245,000.

"I think the television coverage is overdoing it. They're scaring people," said a hotel worker surnamed Li, who spent the night in a public park.

The most lamented victims of the quake have been the thousands of children who died when school buildings collapsed.

In Juyuan town, hundreds of grieving parents demanded an annual memorial day for their children, punishment of officials or builders responsible for shoddy schools, and compensation.

"How come all the houses didn't fall down, but the school did? And how come that happened in so many places?" demanded Zhao, whose two daughters were crushed to death.

"We want a memorial day for the children, but we also want criminal prosecution of those responsible, no matter who they are."

As China's ruling Communist Party seeks to maintain a staunch front of unity and stability after the quake, the incipient protests by parents could be troublesome, for many of them blame official graft and laxity, more than nature, for the deaths.

HOPE REMAINS

The number of dead from the May 12 quake, the worst to hit China since 1976, is expected to rise dramatically. The Communist Party chief in Sichuan said on Monday nearly 30,000 were still missing and a further 5,000 were believed buried under rubble.

Ma's release raised hopes of further rescues. In 1990, a quake survivor was pulled out alive two weeks after being buried under a collapsed hotel in the northern Philippines.

Rescuers found Ma on Saturday when they were digging a hole trying to reach a colleague, Yu Jinhua, Xinhua news agency said.

"Following an amputation operation, Yu was rescued at about 6 p.m. on May 18," Xinhua said. "Rescuers then turned to Ma and sent sweetened water to him through a straw."

Rescuers had reached the most remote areas of the province by Monday, but roads to some 50 affected towns and villages were still blocked by rocks and mudslides.

Whole towns have been flattened in mountainous areas north and west of Chengdu, and about 4.8 million people are homeless. Housing and feeding during the long-term rebuilding effort will prove a major challenge.

The quake warning also prompted panic in neighboring Chongqing municipality and Guizhou province.

"The panic was much worse in Guizhou, where reports of a frog and toad migration also spread public fear," Xinhua said.

In Tongzi county in Zunyi, a city in the north of Guizhou that borders Sichuan and Chongqing, "some villagers said they saw a massive migration of frogs and toads on Monday night, which they took as quake forecast", Xinhua said, quoting Zunyi's Vice Mayor, Zeng Yongtao.

He said the city government was investigating.