More than 20,000 stranded survivors were rescued in quake-hit Sichuan Province in southwest China by armed forces on Thursday alone.

Meanwhile, the roads to the epicenter Wenchuan County and worst-hit Beichuan County had been cleared.

As of 10:00 AM on Thursday, 64,040 victims had been hospitalized in Sichuan after a massive quick rocked this area. Among them, 12,587 patients were severely injured, Gao Qiang, deputy minister of health, said at a press conference on Thursday.

Troops were poured into the worst-hit regions to repair roads connecting the epicenter.

As of 9:00 PM Thursday, road from Lixian to Wenchuan had been cleared. Three hours earlier, road from Mianzhu to Beichuan, the other worst-hit region, had been cleared.

As of 8:00 AM Thursday, more than 130,000 troops were engaged in rescue operations in areas ravaged by the quake.

Also, by Thursday morning, rescuers had reached all 58 counties and towns stricken by Monday's massive quake.

(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2008)