Thousands of people are believed to be still buried under the rubble. Without power or water supplies, rescuers are racing against time to find survivors.

Although each team has its own job, everybody is racing against time. (CCTV.com)

People wearing various uniforms can be seen right across Beichuan county, and they all have a same job: to save lives.

Mr. Wang, commander of Mianyang Fire Brigade, said, "Two hundred and sixty soldiers are working here. These guys have been working for more than 20 hours. They have hardly had time to rest since we arrived."

Schools, kindergartens and government buildings were the most severely damaged during the earthquake. These buildings are where most of the rescuers gathered over the last few days.

The rescuers include PLA soldiers, fire brigades, police, reserves and militia.

This is the first time so many different kinds of troops have worked together.

Mr. Su, militia, said, "We started to work as soon as we got here. We just can’t wait when students are buried here."

Although each team has its own job, everybody is racing against time.

So far more than 16-thousand people have been evacuated from Beichuan.

(CCTV May 17, 2008)