Drones dispatched to capture images of quake-hit regions

BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- China has dispatched five drones to capture images of quake-hit areas, according to the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation.

The drone images will cover the hardest-hit Baoxing, Taiping and Longmen townships.

The administration has already obtained satellite images of pre-disaster Lushan county, of Ya'an City in Sichuan Province, through the Ziyuan III satellite.

It has published satellite images of quake-hit areas and adjacent places on www.tianditu.cn, and will publish the latest drone images when they are available.

The administration is working as quickly as possible to compile maps to help with the quake-relief work.

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Lushan county at 8:02 a.m. Saturday Beijing Time.