Nine Chinese have been confirmed dead in the aftermath of Algeria's
earthquake, where the death toll climbed to 2,047 yesterday.
It
has left at least 8,600 others injured.
According to Xinhua, a Chinese rescue team arrived in Algeria on
Saturday morning and was soon assigned to one of the most seriously
hit areas of Dallys, a small city in the tremor-ravaged
country.
They have been sifting through building debris in their search for
survivors.
Before their arrival, eight Chinese construction workers were
confirmed dead and nine others injured when their six-story
dormitory collapsed during the earthquake.
The body of Chen Weidong, 52, an interpreter, was discovered on
Saturday afternoon.
The victims were all employees of the China Construction Eighth
Engineering Division.
The remaining estimated 8,000 Chinese in Algeria are safe. Rescue
team leader Qiu Mingsheng has also sent medical experts to check on
the injured workers. They have been treated well by China's medical
team in Algeria, Qiu said.
The Chinese ambassador to Algeria, Wang Wangsheng, visited the
injured workers at the weekend.
He
said the embassy will do everything it can to assist them.
Thousands of residents of the Mediterranean provinces of Algiers
and Boumerdes have spent a fourth night in the open, having lost
their homes or being too scared to return to those still
standing.
(China Daily May 26, 2003)
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