Thousands flee on China lake bank fears

By Chris Buckley and John Ruwitch

BEICHUAN, China (Reuters) - Thousands of Chinese fled their homes on Saturday amid fears a lake could burst its banks, hampering rescue efforts after the deadliest earthquake in more than three decades killed about 29,000 people.

Rescue workers returned to Beichuan county, near the epicentre of the quake, in Sichuan province, but many residents were too frightened to return, nervous about a lake formed after aftershocks triggered landslides blocking the flow of a river.

"After briefly evacuating, rescue work returned to normal at Beichuan," an official Web site (www.china.com.cn) said, blaming the evacuation on a false alarm.

A paramilitary officer had told Reuters earlier that the likelihood of the lake bursting its banks was "extremely big".

The situation was "very dangerous because there are still tremors causing landslides that could damage the dam", said Luo Gang, a building worker who left the southeastern port city of Xiamen and rushed home to look for his missing fiancee.

Rescue work had been complicated by bad weather, treacherous terrain and hundreds of aftershocks.

The United States Geological Survey reported a tremor of 6.1 magnitude centred 80 km west of Guangyuan, the latest in a series of aftershocks to hit Sichuan province. There was no immediate word from the area of any damage or casualties.

"Although the time for the best chance of rescue ... has passed, saving lives remains the top priority of our work," President Hu Jintao told distraught survivors just over a week after a jubilant China celebrated the Olympic torch relay reaching the summit of Mount Everest.