China quake tourists to fly home

The death toll in the earthquake is thought to be more than 15,000

Nineteen UK tourists who were visiting a region in China when a massive earthquake struck are waiting to return home, the tourist's travel firm said.

They were flown from the Wolong area in Sichuan, famed for its pandas, and are now arranging for flights to the UK. They are all said to be safe and well.

Kuoni, the travel firm the tourists were travelling with, said they would be coming back on different days.

The quake killed more than 28,000 people, with thousands still trapped.

Panda 'sense'

The tourists were visiting the panda reserve on Monday when the quake struck.

Contact was lost with them, raising fears they had been injured in the quake which left villages flattened. Other British tourists have been accounted for.

Tourist Barry Jackson said the tour party had been waiting for a glimpse of a giant panda when the quake struck.

For most of the time I was more concerned particularly about my mum not knowing whether I was alive or dead and probably thinking I was dead Liz Cullen British tourist Tourist tells of hope and despair

"Then suddenly we had this horrendous noise which is - well, you can't describe what it's like - it's like a huge, huge noise and the land's shaking beneath you and the first thing that we all thought to do, was to run."

Fellow traveller Diane Etkins said the pandas were being "really lazy, just eating bamboo" but then they suddenly started "parading round their pen".

"Looking back, they must have sensed something was wrong."

Speaking in a hotel, Ms Etkins praised the operation to evacuate the area: "The devastation...in that area that we were in is horrendous and for them to have got us out so quickly is amazing".

Rolling boulders

Sir William Ehrman, British ambassador to China, had flown to China on Wednesday to help co-ordinate the search for the tourists.

Following their rescue, Sir William said on Thursday "it was a great relief" to get the tourists to safety.

He said he had seen many "harrowing sights" during his visit.

Anyone in the UK concerned about friends or relatives should call 020 7008 0000

"One of the stories I keep hearing is how, in the mountainous areas, vast boulders, - many the size of houses - were rolling down the slopes all over the place. That happened to the British tourists in the panda reserve, but mercifully none were struck."

He thanking the Chengdu authorities for their help with the tourists, who were flown from the panda reserve by helicopter to Chengdu.

The Foreign Office said anyone in the UK who is concerned about friends or relatives who may be in China should call its helpline on 020 7008 0000.

It has advised against all but essential travel to Sichuan province.