When Qing Qing saw a ray of light again after 20 hours in the wreckage of her school, she cried desperately for water.

She was fed small mouthfuls of mineral water, with the lid of the bottle, in case excessive intake might deteriorate her internal injuries.

Apparently insatiate, the girl took out two yuan out of her pocket, "Can you sell me a whole bottle please?"

Qing Qing was one of the 1,000-odd school children and teachers buried in the ruins of four schools in Mianzhu County, less than 100 kilometers from Wenchuan, the epicenter of Monday's devastating earthquake. Many were feared dead.

The quake, the worst in China since the Tangshan earthquake in the northern Hebei Province in 1976 that took 242,000 lives, has killed more than 12,000 people in Sichuan Province alone.

In Mianzhu alone, the toll stood at 2,000 on Tuesday.

The tragedy has been a deadly blow to everyone: it has caught many youngsters in panic, grief and fear, and revived the nightmarish memories of survivors of former quakes.

Where there is a will

Juyuan Middle School, located in an obscure town in Dujiangyan City neighboring Wenchuan, aroused widespread attention from the public overnight. About 900 students and teachers were buried when its school building collapsed in Monday's quake, and more than 60 were confirmed dead by Tuesday.

For the past 30 hours, four cranes have been excavating, hundreds of PLA soldiers have been searching the ruins and 50 medical workers have been waiting to provide first-aid to anyone who is lucky to survive.

"Five students were dug out live yesterday and were taken to hospitals in Chengdu in our ambulance," said a doctor from the provincial capital.

On the campus parked more than 10 ambulances and three buses. Anxious parents waited for news, good or bad.

Zhang Tianchun, 38, said he could not go home unless he saw his daughter. "She's in the ninth grade. I have to wait for her."

No one could tell exactly how many students have been saved and sent to Chengdu for treatment. "Most of the survivors were seriously injured, but the best medical facilities and the best doctors are available for them in Chengdu," said Yu Cheng, a doctor with the First-Aid Center in the provincial capital.

Chances became slim for the trapped students on Tuesday afternoon but everyone persevered all the same. "I have to wait here to save the children," said Han Juwen, a doctor from a hospital in Shuangliu County, in the suburbs of Chengdu. "We have to do everything we can as long as there's still hope."

Newborn babies, night watch

New mother Li Ling never expected her daughter would have chosen this particular Monday as her birth date.

Li began to feel the pains earlier on Monday and was hospitalized at the No. 2 Hospital in Meishan City.

"My family were with me in the ward when the building began to rock back and forth," she said. "Everyone panicked and I struggled to get out with them. This is the most terrible experience in my life."

She was ready to give birth at 4 pm, but could not get back into the hospital as the building could collapse in the aftershocks. The doctors decided to make a temporary delivery room out of an ambulance.

In 20 minutes, the baby was born.

"I was in tears and I really feel grateful to the doctors and nurses -- they risked their lives," said Li. She hasn't chosen a name for the baby yet.

At least three more babies have been born in the makedo delivery room by midday Tuesday.

Meishan City is about 60 kilometers south of Chengdu and 140 km south of the epicenter. The quake there measured around 5 on the Richter scale. Nine people died and 30,182 houses collapsed.

In several counties, families huddled in the four-square-meter plastic tents distributed by the relief headquarters. All they had in the temporary lodgings were a pile of straws to make do as a mattress, and one quilt.

In the outer Danling county, where many homes were destroyed, men took turns for night watch while women and children slept in tents. The night watches patrolled their tent community and kept an eye on all the valuables that were saved from the wreckage.

The villagers are expected to spend many nights in the tents, as heavy rain in the wake of the quake has made reconstruction impossible, said Huang Kezhong, a villager.

Love form afar

Fudan University student Wang Bing was hooked on the Internet since the news of the quake was published.

Thousands were feared dead in his home county of Beichuan, about 160 km from the epicenter.

"Today is my grandfather's birthday. Who can tell me if he's still alive?" he sobbed. "My cousin studies at the middle school that collapsed and buried at least 1,000 people."

Wang couldn't get through to any of his relatives as the quake had disrupted the local telecom network. "Landslides have blocked off roads in Beichuan and I cannot go home to check if they are OK."

Updates about the quake, rescue work and prays for families and hometowns dominated the BBS of the Shanghai-based university on Tuesday.

Many of these young students feel the importance of kinship and friendship, and are eager to get back in touch with families, friends, old schoolmates and other acquaintances in the quake-hit areas.

The school has promised financial aid for the 342 students from quake-hit areas in Sichuan, Yunnan and Gansu.

The students' association organized a candlelight vigil on Tuesday night on the campus to pray for the safety and health of those in the quake-hit regions.

"I wish my family will sit through this disaster. Please let me know you are doing fine," said Wang Bing in tears. He was echoed by hundreds of others.

(Xinhua News Agency May 14, 2008)