Aftershock warning sparks panic in China

CHENGDU, China - A government warning of a major aftershock sent thousands of panicked survivors running into the darkened streets Monday night following an unprecedented display of mourning for more than 34,000 people killed in a powerful earthquake one week ago.

In shattered Sichuan province, quake-weary residents carried pillows, blankets and chairs from homes into the open or slept in cars after a statement from the National Seismology Bureau was read on television warning that there was a "rather great" chance of an aftershock measuring magnitude 6 to 7. Such jolts could cause major damage.

People in the provincial capital of Chengdu got in their cars and drove east — toward plains and away from the quake zone to the northwest. At intersections outside the city, clusters of people slept on bedrolls. Cars were parked along a service road to a highway, their drivers sleeping on the sidewalk.

In Mianyang, closer to the quake zone, a hospital moved patients into the square outside the rail station, setting up beds, medicine trays and tents.

The alarm compounded uneasiness in the region, which has been rumbled by dozens of aftershocks since the May 12 quake, including one on Monday night measured at magnitude 5.2 by the U.S. Geological Survey. No damage or injuries were reported.

It came a few hours after China's more than 1 billion people paused for three minutes of mourning — an observance that previously only honored the death of a top Chinese leader.

The Olympic torch relay, a potent symbol of national pride in the countdown to the Beijing Games, was suspended.

The occasion demonstrated the profound impact of the quake.

China's Cabinet said the confirmed death toll rose to 34,073, although it is expected to climb. Another 5,260 remained buried in Sichuan, the provincial government said. Almost 250,000 are injured.