Chinese state media says troops are rushing to plug “extremely dangerous” cracks in a dam upriver from an earthquake-hit city.
Eye-witness account from Zhang Xiaohui, Luo Jian
Our location now is Zipingpu Reservoir, about 30 kilometers away from Wenchuan. The road is completely blocked due to heavy rain and frequent landslides. We have seen vehicles that were smashed by fallen rocks parked by the roadside, but there appeared to be no casualties.
We can see cracks on the road surface here in Zipingpu Reservoir, and the balusters surrounding the dam have been ruined by the earthquake. There are dozens of army vehicles stranded here, and there are soldiers sitting inside.
There are dozens of speed boats in the reservoir but the strong flow and debris in the water seem to have prevented them from going forward.
But now we can see four of the speedboats setting out in the direction of Yingxiu (one of the most badly-hit areas of Wenchuan). We believe this is the team to explore ways to push ahead.
We have started our journey to the reservoir from Chengdu, taking the Cheng-Guan highway and headed north. On the way, we saw two helicopters, which failed to enter Wenchuan due to the thick fog. Virtually all residential buildings along the road have been ruined, but we have yet to ascertain the death toll or number of injured.
All the way, we have seen many ambulances carrying the injured for treatment.
Traffic control has been imposed along the Cheng-Guan highway, and non-official vehicles are forbidden on the highway. A 25-year old Tibetan student named Zhuomamu has volunteered to guide us through the mountain routes on foot. In fact, there have been earthquake victims trekking out of nearby villages along the route we took to seek help.
Background: About Zipingpu Reservoir
Zipingpu is a large water irrigation and water supply project in northwest Dujiangyan. It is two kilometers away from the downtown and 40.5 kilometers from Chengdu.
Source: eeo.com.cn via politisite
Xinhua News Agency said Wednesday that 2,000 troops had been sent to work on the Zipingku Dam, upriver from Dujiangyan in Sichuan province.
Dujiangyan saw buildings collapse and services cut off in Monday’s magnitude 7.9 quake earthquake.
Source: chicagotribune.com via politisite
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