BEIJING, Aug 3: The Olympic torch relay made its way through southwest Sichuan province on Sunday, three months after the area was devastated by a huge earthquake, state media said.

The torch passed through the village of Guang’an, the home of former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who instigated many of the economic reforms that sparked the country’s economic boom, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The 90-minute leg of the relay started after a minute’s silence in memory of the victims of the 8.0-magnitude quake, which left close to 90,000 people dead or missing.

The leg was started by female policewoman Jiang Min, who took part in the rescue effort after the May 12 quake and who lost 10 relatives in the disaster, Xinhua said.

Originally the torch was scheduled to pass through Sichuan between June 15-18, but the quake forced a change of plan. The torch will stay in the province until Tuesday, when it heads to Beijing. During its Sichuan leg it will pass through Mianyang, one of the towns worst hit by the quake.—AFP