Thousands flee on China flooding 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 go home, worried about a lake formed after aftershocks triggered landslides blocking 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 49 miles (80 km) west of Guangyuan, the latest in a series of aftershocks to hit Sichuan province. China's official Xinhua news agency said there was no immediate word from the area of additional damage or casualties.

President Hu Jintao urged emergency workers not to give up efforts to find survivors of Monday's 7.9 magnitude earthquake. Thousands of people are believed to remain trapped under rubble.