China finishes 'earthquake lake' drainage work

Dujiangyan: China on Sunday completed work to drain a lake formed by last month's earthquake that had threatened to flood towns.

Authorities have evacuated 197,000 people from areas at risk of flooding and drawn up contingency plans to move as many as 1.3 million people.

The official death toll from the May 12 quake is 68,977 and is expected to rise, with 17,974 people still missing in remote parts of the southwestern province of Sichuan.

Officials have said more than 30 landslide-blocked rivers could burst, flooding towns and tent camps where survivors of the 7.9-magnitude quake have taken refuge.

The state-run Xinhua news agency said hundreds of soldiers and paramilitary police worked round the clock to complete a channel to divert part of the Tangjiashan quake-formed lake.