Rescue operation switches to search for bodies as tens of thousands remain missing

China admits death toll in earthquake could top 50,000

Published:

China yesterday admitted the death toll from this week’s earthquake could be higher than 50,000.

Aid agencies had suggested earlier in the week that the official figures underestimated the scale of the disaster.

As the confirmed death toll hit 19,509, up from nearly 15,000 on Wednesday, the government agreed the 50,000 figure.

Tens of thousands of people are still unaccounted for. More than 72 hours after the earthquake hit, the relief effort appeared to shift from looking for survivors to searching for bodies.

Troops dug burial pits and black smoke poured from crematorium chimneys in central China as priorities began shifting last night from the hunt for survivors to dealing with the dead.

Across the quake zone in Dujiangyan, troops wearing face masks collected bodies and loaded them onto a truck. Thick black smoke streamed from the twin smokestacks of the town’s crematorium.

Police and militia in Dujiangyan pulverised rubble with cranes while workmen used shovels to pick around larger pieces of debris. On one side street, about a dozen bodies were laid on a pavement, while incense sticks placed in a pile of sand sent smoke into the air as a tribute and to dull the stench.

Not all hope of finding survivors was lost.

After more than three days trapped under debris, a 22-year-old woman was pulled to safety in Dujiangyan.

Experts said the time for rescues was growing short.

The government appealed to the Chinese public, calling for donations of rescue equipment including hammers, shovels, demolition tools and rubber boats.

By yesterday, more than 130,000 soldiers and police were involved in the relief operation.

Premier Wen Jiabao visited Qingchuan in northern Sichuan province, the site of a collapsed school that buried dozens of children, to encourage doctors and nurses aiding the injured.

“The party and the government are grateful to you,” he said.

Plans for the Defence Ministry to deploy 100 more helicopters emphasised worries that the death toll would rocket as time runs out for buried survivors.

Roads were cleared to two key areas that felt the brunt of the quake’s force, with workers making it to the border of Wenchuan county at the epicentre and also through to Beichuan county.

Roads to the epicentre had been blocked by debris since the 7.9-magnitude quake, preventing rescuers from moving heavy equipment to the worst-affected areas.

China said later it has accepted offers from four countries to send in rescue teams. The country’s foreign ministry said it would accept specialised teams from Russia, South Korea, and Singapore.

The 19 tourists, who had been out of touch since the earthquake struck on Monday, were earlier found safe and well.