Rescuers had reached all the 1,044 quake-hit villages that are under 134 townships in southwestern Sichuan Province by Tuesday evening, according to a military source.

Soldiers and armed police are still trying to rescue survivors from the debris and bring food and water to villages that have been isolated since the earthquake, the source said.

At a meeting on Monday afternoon, Premier Wen Jiabao asked the armed force to reach victims in every quake-hit village within 24 hours.

The rescuers will carry a certain amount of food and water and the army will keep air-dropping necessities to remote villages amid deep mountains, said Guo Boxiong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, who was overseeing rescue work at Yinghua township, Shifang city, Sichuan Province.

Medical workers will arrive at villages together, he said.

The armed forces will also set up mobile field kitchens at large-scale temporary shelters to provide hot meals to residents, Guo added.