By 8:00 AM on Wednesday, more than 800 armed police had arrived at Wenchuan and started rescue operation in southwest China's Sichuan Province that was hit by a massive earthquake Monday afternoon.

Wednesday morning, two helicopters with relief supplies flied over the Yingxiu Town of Wenchuan County and three more are standing by to await orders at the Fenghuanshang airport, according to the Chengdu Military Command.

If weather conditions permit, the five helicopters will fly to Wenchuan County to air-drop relief supplies, according to the Chengdu Military Command.

From Beijing, two remote-sensing planes of China's naval forces departed at 7:00 AM on Wednesday to quake-hit Sichuan to collect data of this region.

The road from Dujiangyan, a city northwest of the provincial capital Chengdu, to Wenchuan, the epicenter, was blocked by rocks and mud slides, holding up rescue, medical and other disaster relief teams.

Several groups from the Chengdu Military Command have chosen to walk to the areas with heaviest damage inflicted by the quake.

As of 7:00 PM on Tuesday, Sichuan reported 12,012 deaths in Monday's quake, according to the disaster relief center under the State Council.

(Xinhua News Agency May 14, 2008)