SICHUAN : Singapore's Disaster and Rescue Teams were among the first foreign groups to join the relief efforts in China Sichuan's province.

Working round the clock, the Singapore teams have uncovered 5 bodies since they arrived in Shifang county, north of Chengdu city. More than 3,500 were killed in this county alone.

Shifang country has been affected by a massive landslide, so the Singapore rescue team helped build a makeshift link bridge to lead locals to safety.

A team is also helping with China's rescue operations in Hongbai Town - some 90 km from the quake's epicentre - since Saturday. Located on a mountainous area, the town was a popular holiday destination for those who wanted to get away for the summer. The quake killed close to 1,000 from the town's population of 20,000. It also stripped the once lush slopes bare.

A railway guardhouse, situated atop a mountain, was swept away by a landslide caused by the earthquake. A hydropower plant is also completely buried due to the landslide.

The dedication of the Singapore team has won them the praise of many locals there, including some who have lost their families.

"We (try to) give the relatives an assurance, that the bodies of their loved ones have been found and they can have a proper burial... In a way, you feel sad but on the other hand, you feel like you've done something that's beyond the call of duty of just finding a body," said Francis Ng, Commander, SCDF Operation Lionheart Contingent.

While the residents may eventually find closure to this tragedy, Hongbai Town and many other afflicted counties still have to face the long road ahead to reconstruction. - CNA /ls