A brigade of soldiers have entered the earthquake epicenter Wenchuan in Sichuan Province, the disaster relief headquarters in the Chengdu Military Area Command said Tuesday.

The soldiers reached Yingxiu Town of Wenchuan on foot on Tuesday afternoon, the headquarters said, adding the town was not accessible by vehicles.

On Monday, rescuers were stranded outside Wenchuan as roads were blocked by boulders and rocks following the earthquake.

The soldiers reported they saw more than 70 percent of the roads in the town were wracked, and nearly all bridges collapsed. A large number of people were believed to be under debris.

They said 3,000 people were known to have survived, and the town's total population is 12,000. No information on the detailed casualties could be available.

Li Shiming, commander of the Chengdu Military Area Command, said the soldiers had distributed food and water to children and injured people in the town, and more supplies would be airdropped to the area.

The massive earthquake has left more than 12,000 people dead in Sichuan Province alone, according to Vice Governor Li Chengyun.

(Xinhua News Agency May 14, 2008)