7.8 MAGNITUDE QUAKE HITS CHINA

Earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.8, struck on Monday afternoon close to densely populated areas of Sichuan province in CHINA.

Nearly 10,000 people have been killed so far in Sichuan and surrounding provinces, Xinhua news agency reported.

There was still little news out of Wenchuan county, the mountainous region at the epicentre, more than 16 hours after disaster struck, All lines of communication were cut with the county, which has a population of 112,000 and is home to the Wolong Nature Reserve, China's leading research and breeding base for endangered giant pandas.

Relief forces were approaching the county on foot, the news agency said, as vehicles were not able to use the road littered with rocks and boulders. "We are currently 70 kilometres from the epicentre after walking for more than four hours," armed police team leader for Aba prefecture Li Zaiyun told CCTV by satellite phone on Tuesday.

The quake was so strong that buildings swayed in Beijing and Shanghai, while the quake was felt in Hong Kong, Vietnam and in the Thai capital Bangkok, 1,800 kilometres (1,200 miles) from the epicentre.....channelnewsasia