Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said efforts to ease a swollen quake lake had reached a "critical moment", as he flew to oversee the relief work.
He boarded a helicopter to see the lake at Tangjiashan after going to Sichuan province, Xinhua state media said.
The authorities have warned that the lake, formed by a landslide after the 12 EU president meets with Chinese premier ...
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A magnitude 5.3 aftershock hit Sichuan as workers prepared to drain the lake through a long specially-dug channel.
There were no immediate reports of new damage or injuries from Thursday's tremor, which the US Geological Survey recorded in the region at the relatively shallow depth of 10km (six miles).
"Now it's a critical moment for the Tangjiashan quake lake, and the most important thing is to ensure there is no casualty of the people," Mr Wen was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency.
Plans are in place to quickly evacuate an estimated 1.3m people who live in the surrounding area if the lake bursts.
More than 250,000 people downstream have already been moved to higher ground.
The level of the lake is still rising, although water has begun seeping out through the debris.
The threat posed by more than 30 quake lakes formed during the earthquake has become one of the most pressing issues in the aftermath of the disaster, which killed more than 69,000 people and left another 18,000 missing and millions more homeless.
The president of the International Red Cross said China would need up to a decade to fully recover.
(BBC)
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