BEIJING - China on Monday began withdrawing the first batch of 40,000 troops from three provinces hit by the massive May 12 earthquake, as authorities shift their focus from rescue to reconstruction work.
The first group of soldiers, about 500 paratroopers, left the Sichuan capital of Chengdu by train Monday morning, the official Xinhua News Agency said. No time frame was given for when the troop pullout will be complete.
China mobilized about 130,000 troops and armed police to help with quake relief and post-quake reconstruction in the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi following the 7.9-magnitude temblor.
The remaining troops will continue their work repairing roads, cleaning up and preventing epidemics, Xinhua quoted Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army, as saying.
The quake destroyed a massive swath of Sichuan and the two neighboring provinces, leaving 70,000 dead and another 18,000 missing. An estimated 5 million people were left homeless.
The troops and armed forces as of July 18 had repaired more than 9,196 miles (14,800 kilometers) of roads, installed 220,000 shelters and relocated more than 1.4 million people, Xinhua said. - AP