More than 18,000 people are reported buried under rubble in just one earthquake-hit city of China as teams of rescuers battle through power cuts, mudslides and heavy rain in desperate efforts to reach them. Chinese state media, Xinhua News Agency, reported Tuesday that 18,645 people are under rubble in the city of Mianyang, which neighbors the epicenter of the earthquake.

It also reports that 3,629 people have died in the city. The death toll has now exceeded 12,000 in Sichuan province alone, The Associated Press reports. The government had earlier announced a death toll from Monday's quake of 11,921 for Sichuan and the surrounding provinces and the city of Chongqing.

A string of nearly 30 seismic aftershock jolts hit the province in the first 24 hours following Monday's quake and slowing the progress of 1,300-strong rescue teams. All of those quakes were magnitude 4.0 and above. A Chinese Civil Affairs Ministry official said his country welcomes foreign donations of money and materials, but it is not ready for outside teams of rescue and relief workers because its transportation system couldn't handle the additional traffic.

Roads blocked by rocks and mudslides had hampered the effort to reach the epicenter in Wenchuan County, forcing military doctors and soldiers to walk to reach the area almost 24 hours after the 7.9 magnitude earthquake shook central China, Xinhua said. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao ordered the military to make it a top priority to open the roads into Wenchuan County, home to about 100,000 people, by mid-day Tuesday. The premier arrived in the earthquake zone Monday to personally direct the relief efforts.

You can read the entire article CNN News.