Chinese rescue teams have reached the worst-hit towns and cities, but survivors in countless small villages in mountainous north-west Sichuan are still waiting for help to reach them.

Provincial towns and cities such as Jiangyou and Mianyang are being inundated by refugees from closer to the epicentre of Monday's devastating quake, many of whom have trekked for days over unstable mountains to try to get help for trapped, injured or hungry relatives.