PLA shows quick response to Lushan earthquake
A sense of unity prevails as PLA, relief agencies and volunteer groups work hand in hand to rush emergency assistance to stricken county
In stark contrast to the Great Sichuan Earthquake five years ago, the central government and the army showed yesterday that they could respond quickly to natural disasters.
And volunteer groups said they were better equipped to help out.
Within hours of yesterday's quake in Lushan county, Sichuan province, relief personnel were mobilised and deployed to the scene with plentiful relief supplies. They comprised teams sent by the military, armed police and central government agencies including the National Earthquake Administration, the ministries of civil affairs and public security and government-backed charities.
The army was better prepared than in May 2008, when the PLA would not take orders from Premier Wen Jiabao's civilian government.
Xinhua reported that almost 7,500 People's Liberation Army soldiers and armed police had been sent to the disaster zone and more than 10,000 others placed on standby.
Air force commander General Ma Xiaotian arrived in Sichuan's Qionglai county to set up an air force headquarters for quake relief. The air force command scrambled two reconnaissance aircraft from Beijing in the morning to take aerial photographs of the quake-hit area, while five civilian drones were also sent up to survey the area.
Forty-five civilian flights were chartered to ferry relief supplies. A military vehicle carrying 17 soldiers en route to the quake zone plunged off a road, killing at least two soldiers, Xinhua said.