LUSHAN, Sichuan, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Continual aftershocks and insufficient relief supplies are hampering the rescue efforts in southwest China's Sichuan, 36 hours after a powerful tremor hit the province.

The latest statistics showed that at least 186 people have been confirmed dead and more than 1.5 million affected as of Sunday night, according to the provincial relief authorities.

Rescuers are racing against the "critical first 72 hours after the disaster" to comb the quake rubble and reach every household in the epicenter of Lushan and its neighboring counties affected by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that jolted the city of Ya'an early Saturday.

Over 1,700 aftershocks have been monitored in Lushan as of 10 p.m., with the strongest measuring 5.4-magnitude, making the already ramshackle houses even more dangerous and the rescue efforts more life-threatening.

A rescue excavator plunged off a 300-meter deep cliff in the morning in Ya'an's quake-hit Baoxing County. The number of casualties have remained unknown as of Sunday night.

"LIFELINE" RESUMES

As of 5 p.m., traffic has resumed on the road linking Baoxing to its neighboring counties of Lushan and Xiaojin and the City of Dujiangyan, resuming transportation of the stranded relief supplies to the county after its 33 hours' post-quake isolation, according to the Sichuan Provincial Department of Transportation.

The road is dubbed as the relief "lifeline" by rescuers.

Several rescue teams managed to reach Baoxing, which has a population of 60,000 and had remained hard to to access after the quake. At least 26 locals have been confirmed dead with another 2,500 being injured as of Sunday morning, according to county head Ma Jun.

"The top priority is to save lives," said Ma. "Meanwhile, we'll resettle the residents and reopen roads."

Altogether 40,000 homeless Baoxing residents are waiting to be relocated as most houses in Lingguan Township and Daxi Village in the county have suffered damage.

Airborne remote sensing images showed that more than 60 percent of buildings in the county seat had suffered damage. Latest statistics show the quake collapsed more than 26,400 houses and damaged 214 reservoirs.

Power supplies have not been fully restored in Baoxing, many parts of which are still shrouded in darkness on Sunday night.

DIRE NEED

Quake survivors in Lushan County are in urgent need of water, food and tents. Xinhua reporters witnessed that residents were waiting for relief goods along the roads linking remote mountain towns in Lushan. Children held up cardboard describing their distress. "500 people, no food, no water, no tents," read a paperboard.

"I had no food for a whole day," said a resident in the Wangjia Village of Longmen Township in Lushan.

The villager was queuing for mineral water dished out by Chen Guangbiao, a high-profile Chinese philanthropist.

Chen said he distributed 1,000 quilts and 1,000 kg of bread while promising to raise 2.3 million yuan (372,337 U.S. dollars) for the quake-stricken region.

But, many of the villagers still gathered at the road near the gate of the village, waiting for the arrival of the rescue teams, as all their food had been buried in the debris.

The county partially regained access to water supply after a water plant resumed production at 1 p.m.. About 100,000 residents in Lushan could get water for emergency use, local authorities said.

In the Zhongli Township, 20 km north of the Ya'an City proper, local villagers have set up make-shift tents with any possible materials at hand.

In Baoxing, many local residents spent the night outdoors, in short of food, water and clothing, as there were not enough tents for every family and people were afraid of returning to their ramshackle homes to get supplies amid constant aftershocks.