BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers are racing against time in the search for survivors a day after the strongest quake to hit China in more than three decades jolted the southwestern province of Sichuan.

    The country was in mourning as the death toll spiraled toward 12,000. The national English-language newspaper, China Daily, printed a front-page headline "The Day the Earth Moved" on a black background.

    Premier Wen Jiabao, who flew to Sichuan on Monday evening, urged the public to have "composure, confidence and courage" in the face of the catastrophe.

    As of 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, the death toll from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake had climbed to 11,921, according to the temporary disaster relief headquarters headed by Premier Wen.

    ARDUOUS JOURNEY TO EPICENTER

    Wenchuan County, the epicenter, has reported 57 confirmed deaths and the fate of about 60,000 other residents has yet to be clarified.

    "I am so worried. So worried," He Biao, a government official with the Aba Autonomous Prefecture of Tibetan and Qiang ethnic groups, Sichuan Province, exclaimed to Xinhua over the phone. Wenchuan forms part of the prefecture.

    Wenchuan and neighboring areas are situated in the steep hills north of Sichuan's provincial capital, Chengdu. Attempts to reach the epicenter "by land, air and water were all thwarted" by a combination of transport and communications problems and rain, said an official with the Sichuan provincial relief headquarters.

    Premier Wen ordered the clearance of rocks and mud slides that were blocking roads to the epicenter by midnight on Tuesday. "People are trapped in debris; we must use every second," he told an emergency meeting at 7:00 a.m.

    As of Tuesday afternoon, near 20,000 soldiers and armed policemen have arrived in Sichuan province, with 30,000 more troops advancing towards the quake-hit regions by planes, trains and trucks, and on foot, the Defense Ministry said.

    Meanwhile, 11 military planes were mobilized to send relief personnel to the quake-stricken areas, with 30 flights scheduled on Tuesday alone.

    The General Staff Department (GSD) of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) issued an order early on Tuesday in an effort to speed up the deployment of rescuers.

    The GSD ordered at 9 a.m. that 10,000 relief troops stationed in the eastern province of Shandong be transported by air instead of rail to Sichuan to save time. Also, civilian aircraft have been mobilized to help with transportation.

    FRANTIC SEARCH FOR SURVIVORS

    In Beichuan County, about 160 kilometers northeast of the epicenter of Wenchuan County, rescuers were searching frantically for survivors in the rubble. At least 1,000 students and teachers were buried when a school in the county collapsed in the quake.

    The main building of the Beichuan Middle School, a seven-story structure, had been reduced to a pile of rubble about 2 meters high.

    About 2,000 students, parents and villagers waited on campus overnight as almost 1,000 armed police searched for survivors in the ruins. Some covered themselves with quilts as it began to rain early on Tuesday.

    Many parents burst into tears when a rescuer carried a teenage girl out of the ruins. She had lost her legs.

    Chen Linglin huddled with her seventh-grade classmates, waiting for help. "We need food and water more than anything else," she said.

    The quake, the worst to hit China since the Tangshan quake of 1976, also toppled schools and buildings elsewhere in Sichuan and neighboring Chongqing Municipality, trapping thousands.

    In Anchang Township, Anxian County, about 20 km from Beichuan, power, water and gas supplies were disrupted and food and drinking water have become scarce. Most stores in town have run out of supplies and many residents are living on leftovers from two days ago.

    A spokesman for the China Seismological Bureau (CSB) said here Tuesday that rescuers had saved 58 people trapped in collapsed buildings. Rescue teams sent by the CSB, Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality have rescued 21 people, 22 people and 15 people respectively, Zhang Hongwei said at a press conference.

    "The rescue work remains very difficult," he said.

    GRIEVED NATION MOBILIZED

    Almost 30 hours after the earthquake, tens of thousands of army personnel and armed police were approaching the epicenter and the first batch of parachute troops had arrived in Wenchuan.

    As of 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, 20,460 armed police were involved in relief work. They had found and dug from the rubble 4,130 injured people and evacuated more than 30,000.

    A group of 30 soldiers have rescued about 300 people at the quake epicenter Yingxiu town of Wenchuan, according to the Chengdu Military Area Command. They arrived at the town on foot Tuesday afternoon.

    Although the death toll is still rising, information is coming out of the affected areas.

    Pan Guang, research fellow of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences said after the quake, the government immediately organized a high-level and targeted emergency response.

    Less than 24 hours after the quake, the Red Cross Society of China had received public donations worth more than 60 million yuan (8.57 million U.S. dollars).

    A pain-stricken nation has been mobilized. On China's web portal Sina.com, news on the earthquake has drawn more than 500,000 written responses from Internet users, who mourned the victims, voiced their concern for the survivors and support for the rescuers.

    The Ministry of Finance has allocated 860 million yuan for disaster relief, and the Ministry of Transport allocated 10 million yuan (1.43 million U.S. dollars) in emergency funds to restore transportation to quake-hit areas.

    Meanwhile, 2,000 medical workers across the country, have been called up by the Health Ministry and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, to join in the relief work.

    The first group of 24 emergency medical teams have already arrived in the quake-hit areas. The ministry also made an appeal to the Chinese public to donate blood for the injured.

    Some 60,600 tents from the Civil Affairs Ministry and 10,000 flashlights, 40,000 batteries and 200,000 candles from the Commerce Ministry have also been sent.

    PREMIER AT THE FRONT

    Premier Wen Jiabao on Tuesday was visiting quake-hit cities to assure the people that rescuers and relief materials were on the way.

    "Rescue teams of soldiers and armed police officers are going all out to reach the worst-hit regions and many have already started rescuing trapped people," said Wen on Tuesday at Dujiangyan city, Sichuan Province, where an emergency command was set up.

    Some rescue and medical teams had already arrived, he said.

    "We will try our best to send milk powder to parents and ensure children do not go hungry," he said after learning that some infants were running short of food and many people needed drinking water and tents.

    "It is raining and fairly cold. You are having a hard time, but please hold on. Things will be better after a while and you will be back home soon," he told victims taking refuge in temporary shelters on the streets.

    The 7.8-magnitude earthquake centered on Wenchuan County, northwest Sichuan, occurred on Monday afternoon and has claimed more than 11,000 lives nationwide.

    "Houses were damaged and we can rebuild them. Those who survived can pull through all difficulties and overcome this major natural disaster," Wen said.

    He later visited a primary school where students were trapped in collapsed buildings.

    Rescuers were working to get two pupils out of the ruins when Wen reached the site.

    "Hold on, you will be saved," a clearly emotional Wen told the pair. He asked rescuers to make every effort to save as many children as possible.

    Wen was visiting cities worst hit by the quake, including Dujiangyan, Deyang and Mianzhu, Sichuan Province.

    He said the rescue work had entered a crucial stage and asked people to remain calm, confident and united as he inspected a factory in Mianzhu.

    He urged officials to ensure the rapid distribution of food.

    He comforted a crying child, saying, "Don't cry. Food will be sent in a short time. Biscuits and milk powder will be sent in a short time."

    Wen told villagers: "The quake has brought you hardships. I know some of your family and friends have died. We are deeply saddened. Some people are still trapped. We will do our utmost to rescue them."