The President of China went to the affected area due to the earthquake

Hu Jintao, Chinese President arrived to the affected area due to the earthquake, which left over 1700 dead, around 12 thousand wounded and 256 missing.

The President arrived at the airport of Batang in Qinghai Province, an area mainly populated by Tibetans, and went to the village of Zhaxi Datong, in the municipality of Chiegu, where he observed the situation and tried to comfort the victims.

Chiegu, is at 4 thousand meters of altitude, and was the most affected area by the earthquake, most of their homes that were destroyed by the quake, were built of adobe and wood.

The head of state visited the wounded who are being healed in the stadium Yushu of the Prefecture.

Hu Jintao arrived yesterday afternoon to Beijing, and suspended his visit to Venezuela and Chile.

The Chinese president made the cancellation on Thursday from Brasilia, where he participated in a meeting with the leaders of Brazil, Russia and India after the nuclear safety summit in Washington.

A spokesman for the rescue service headquarters said that “there are 12.128 wounded, of whom 1.424 are in serious condition.”

According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, “the survivors have been already installed in tents and were given food, water and other basic needs.”

The head of the Rescue Operations Department, Zou Ming reported that “A total of 25 thousand tents, 52 thousand blankets 16 thousand coats and 850 tons of prepared food and drinking water reached the zone.”

The latest information from the official news agency Xinhua says that “in these five days there were rescued 17 thousand people that were trapped in the rubble.”

Hundreds of dead were burned yesterday to prevent disease outbreaks while Buddhist monks prayed for the victims.