Premier Wen visits Zhouqu and orders increased rescue efforts

Proposed cover. Source: Sina Microblog

Real cover. Source: SMD epaper

Like all the other major newspapers, today's Southern Metropolis Daily continues to report on the landslides of Zhouqu County, Gansu. Yesterday afternoon 337 have been confirmed dead, with 1,148 missing.

Premier Wen Jiabao has arrived on the scene, and is directing rescue work. The official front page of the Southern Metropolis Daily has the main caption read: "On the scene of the disaster Wen Jiabao orders increased rescue efforts."

However, the Abbao portal shows a different front page, showing an old woman who died in the mudslide, completely submerged with only her hands out of the water. It was shot by Southern Metropolis Daily journalist Liu Ke (刘可). Deputy editor Cui Xianghong's (崔向红) Sina microblog update explains after the image is circulated on the service: "This is not the print version, but the electronic."

Another journalist from the paper, Wang Xing (王星), microblogged to say that the original grisly image didn't pass censors.