Chinese military forces have helped in evacuation of more than 1.33 million people from regions hit by the May 12 earthquake, a People's Liberation Army (PLA) spokesman said on Tuesday.

Since the quake rocked China's southwest Sichuan Province on May 12, around 190,000 People's Liberation Army forces, armed police and militia have been deployed in disaster rescue and relief.

According to the State Council Information Office, 1,417,224 people had been evacuated from the quake-affected areas by June 15.

Military medical services had treated 624,800 injured people, the spokesman said.

The military had set up 300,000 makeshift shelters or tents for survivors, delivered or air dropped 91 tons of relief supplies, cleared 7.97 cubic meters of debris, disinfected 643 million square meters of quake-hit areas and repaired 11,400 kilometers of roads.

In addition, the military also helped local people repair irrigation systems and open sluices to release water from quake lakes formed by landslides.

During the rescue and relief mission, a Mi-171 military transport helicopter crashed 7.5 kilometers from Yingxiu on May 31. Searchers found the crash site after a 12-day search.

The five crew are the only reported servicemen killed during the rescue and relief mission. A memorial ceremony was held for them in Beijing on Monday and they were bestowed with posthumous first-class merits.

(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2008)