Special report: Strong Earthquake Jolts SW China　

    QINGCHUAN, Sichuan, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of people are being evacuated from around a lake and a river at risk of bursting in southwest China's earthquake zone, disaster relief officials aid on Saturday.

    The disaster relief headquarters in the Beichuan County told Xinhua that they received reports of water levels reaching danger point at the Laoyingyan section of the Qianjiang River on Saturday.

    The river has been blocked at several sections by landslides caused by Monday's earthquake.

    "It hasn't burst yet, but we asked people to leave because we need to prepare for the worst," an official with the headquarters said.

    He said experts were conducting aerial surveys of the river on Saturday and considering whether to blast the blockages to discharge the water.

    Hundreds of rescuers and local residents were seen leaving Beichuan on Saturday. Injured people and old men were carried by the soldiers and fire-fighters on stretchers.

    Xinhua reporter saw dozens of rescuers in Beichuan looking for survivors and disinfecting the area. The headquarters said 7,227 people died in Beichuan after the earthquake, about 5,894 people are missing, 4,459 are buried.

    Meanwhile, at the Hongguang Township in Qingchuan County, authorities are evacuating about 2,000 people downstream of the Qingzhu River as experts with the Sichuan land resources department warned of flooding risks.

    Multiple landslides caused by the earthquake blocked parts of the river and formed a large stretch of water, which experts with said exceeded 10 million cubic meters.

    More debris slides caused by aftershocks were likely to continue to push the water level up, experts said.

    "If the water level rises by another two to three meters, it will overflow and threaten more than 2,000 people who are staying in shelters after the earthquake downstream," one of the experts said.

    Water had already overflowed into the streets of a neighboring village in the Qianjin Township, he said.

    Experts said the lake embankments were very loose after being shaken by the earthquake, which also heightened the risk of a burst.

    "It the lake bursts, it will form at least a 40-kilometer waterway, and the results will be grave," he warned.

    Experts were considering plans to explode the river embankment to divert the water.