By Xinhua,
Chengdu (China) : Chinese President Hu Jintao has expressed gratitude to the foreign countries and people who have offered thier help after a devastating earthquake that killed more than 28,000 people.
“On behalf of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the State Council and the Central Military Commission, I express heartfelt thanks to the foreign governments and international friends that have contributed to our quake-relief work,” Hu said Saturday night after meeting the rescue troops in the hard-hit region of the quake in Sichuan province.
More than 200 international rescue workers from Japan, Russia, South Korea and Singapore are already at work in the region. On Saturday evening, Russian workers pulled out a 61-year-old woman who had survived 127 hours covered in rubble from the 7.8-strength temblor.
She was the first survivor to have been rescued by foreign helpers.
A number of countries have offered material and humanitarian aid and rescue teams since the quake struck the south-west region of the country last Monday.
Hu also conveyed his greetings to the officials and people in the disaster-hit areas, of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops, armed police, public security staffs, medical personnel, journalists and all people making “selfless devotions” to the quake-devastated areas.
During his meeting with rescue officials, Hu urged local governments at all levels and relevant central government departments to take quake relief as the most important and pressing issue in their work.
He called for unremitting efforts to search for and rescue the trapped people though more than five days had passed after the disaster.
“We should put people first and saving people’s lives is still the top priority of the relief work,” he said.
The earthquake, the worst in decades, had caused 28,881 deaths nationwide as of 2 p.m. Saturday.