China earthquakes: Death toll reaches 80

BEIJING -- Rescue workers cleared roads Saturday to search for survivors and rush aid to a remote mountainous area of southwestern China after twin earthquakes killed at least 80 people and injured 821.

More than 200,000 villagers were evacuated after Friday's quakes toppled thousands of homes and sent boulders cascading across roads in a region of small farms and mines near the border between Guizhou and Yunnan provinces, where some of China's poorest people live.

The official Xinhua News Agency quoted local officials as saying the death toll could climb because the quakes seriously damaged roads and communications, making it difficult to collect information.

The damage also slowed rescue efforts.

State television said Saturday that workers had cleared a road into the worst-hit area that had been blocked by fallen boulders, allowing rescuers and assistance in.

Rescue work was also likely to be hampered by rain forecast over the next three days. There was, however, some uplifting news: State television reported that four babies had been born in temporary hospitals set up after the quakes.

-- AP