'Quake lake' draining faster

BEIJING, June 10 (UPI) -- China's quake-created Tangjiashan lake was draining faster than it had been but engineers remained alert to the threat landslides might destabilize the lake.

Latest reports said the water level in the lake in the worst quake-hit Sichuan province was expected to fall Tuesday with outflow now outpacing influx, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The drainage effort began three day ago.

The water flow has reduced the threat of the lake bursting but because of continuing aftershocks which could set off more landslides, authorities remained alert to any eventuality. About 1 million people live downstream from the lake.

More than 200 armed police officers have worked around the clock to drain the lake through a man-made spillway, Xinhua reported. Engineers had to fire several short-range missiles to break the boulders in the channel to speed the outflow.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who has led the relief effort from the start, said no relaxation will be allowed in medical treatment and epidemic prevention in the quake regions.

Thus far, all the quake-hit regions have been spared of any major epidemic outbreaks or emerging public health incidents, the report said.

The May 12 earthquake killed 69,142 people, injured 374,065 people, left 17,551 missing and affected 46.25 million people, Xinhua said.