China issued a rare public appeal for rescue equipment today as it struggled to cope with the aftermath of this week’s earthquake.

China ordered 101 more helicopters into the air today and planned aid drops into remote areas of Sichuan province as it struggled to cope with the powerful earthquake that has directly affected 10 million people.

Soldiers who hiked over landslide-blocked roads to reach the epicentre of China’s devastating earthquake searched through collapsed buildings today for survivors, with the death toll certain to rise to near 20,000 as the buried are found.