Military planes drop aid into Sichuan quake zone

The People's Liberation Army has started airdrops of relief supplies to the two counties in Sichuan worst affected by Saturday's earthquake, which has killed at least 192 people and injured nearly 12,000.

Planes from the Chengdu military command were deployed as rescuers reached the isolated county of Baoxing, where survivors expressed frustration at a lack of supplies partly blamed on blocked roads.

The supplies, also dropped into Taiping township in neighbouring Lushan county, included about six tonnes of food, an online provincial government news portal reported yesterday.

Both counties are part of the city of Yaan . Baoxing had been largely cut off since the quake struck and mountain roads leading into it collapsed. But 23 rescue workers from the China Earthquake Administration arrived there at midnight on Sunday after battling harsh weather and roads blocked by landslides.

Families in Baoxing still searching for missing relatives said they were struggling for basic necessities ranging from water to infant formula. Power supplies have been restored.