Premier Li visits quake-hit areas
Li Keqiang flies to zone near epicentre, tells military to meet demands of Sichuan officials
Premier Li Keqiang flew to one of the areas of Sichuan hardest hit by yesterday's earthquake.
The premier ordered rescuers, the military and local-government officials to work together and make the most of the critical first 24 hours following such a disaster to save lives.
Li took a PLA Air Force helicopter to the quake epicentre of Lushan county in Yaan city after arriving in the provincial capital, Chengdu , in the afternoon.
He called a meeting at about 6pm at the frontline headquarters in Longmen township, Lushan.
"Life is the most important thing and the top priority is saving lives," said Li.
The premier was accompanied by Vice-Premier Wang Yang and Yang Jing , the secretary general of the State Council. Li said there should be not be a delay of a minute or even a second during the "golden 24 hours" for saving lives.
"We should also make every effort to prevent any additional casualties from happening during the aftershocks," he said.