China says quake toll could rise above 50,000

The death toll from China's earthquake could soar to more than 50,000, state media reported yesterday, as rescuers struggled to help survivors and hope faded for the thousands buried under rubble.

Some 20,000 are confirmed dead after Monday's 7.9 magnitude quake and 25,000 were buried in areas rescuers have struggled to reach, battling landslides, buckled roads and collapsed bridges. Half the epicentre town of Yingxiu, where corpses are lined along the river, has been flattened and 90 per cent of the buildings remaining look unsafe.

Zhang Yuejiao, 18, ran out of her school as it collapsed, with school buildings appearing to be the biggest victims of the tremor across Sichuan, a province as big as France.

"We have been waiting to try to find out what happened to my brother," she said calmly. "His school collapsed and we haven't been able to find him."

Helicopters arrived every 15 minutes to take the injured away and soldiers had walked in 40 km to help.

The Communist Party told officials to "ensure social stability" as the quake spawned rumours of chemical spills, fears of dam bursts and scenes of collective desperation.

Xinhua news agency said 17 "malicious rumourmongers" had been punished for spreading "false information, sensational statements and sapping public confidence". Rescuers in the city of Dujiangyan wrapped corpses dragged from the rubble in tarpaulins and sped them to morgues. They were so busy that a notice outside one collapsed school asked parents to search for missing children in shifts.

About 130,000 army and paramilitary troops assisted the search and rescue effort in Sichuan, sifting through dozens of towns turned to rubble.

But three days after the quake, hopes of pulling survivors from the ruins dimmed and the waves of rescuers appear to be hampered by lack of specialised equipment.

Still, there were moments of joy and relief. "Thank you, thank you," one 22-year-old said after she was eventually pulled to safety, covering her face against the light in Dujiangyan. She had been trapped, unable to move, under the ruins of a hospital.

A teenage girl told Xinua how she and her classmates sang pop songs together as they lay trapped and injured in the ruins of their high school.

Rescuers reached a 62-year-old man after an all-night search, prompting a round of applause from onlookers. A teenage girl was freed from the rubble of her school, but at the cost of both her legs which doctors had to amputate. And a three-year-old girl was rescued after being shielded from the rubble by her dead parents.

Thirty-three tourists from Britain, the US and France were airlifted out of a panda reserve, but Xinhua said 893 foreign tourists remained trapped. One German was among the victims, the Foreign Ministry said.

But the strains from tens of thousands of homeless were growing.

"There is enough food but not enough water. We have only had bottled mineral water the past few days, nothing to cook with," said Wang Yujie, a teacher whose school withstood the quake. More aid was arriving and efforts at coordination were also improving, with Sichuan setting up a hotline for victims and ambulances with Beijing licence plates on the roads. More than 12.5 tonnes of relief goods had been airdropped and scores of helicopters were flying in rescuers and aid.