China quake toll reaches 28 881

2008-05-17 14:39

Beijing - The confirmed earthquake death toll in China has risen to 28 881, a central government official said on Saturday.

Another 198 347 people have been injured as of 14:00 (06:00 GMT), Guo Weimin, a spokesperson for China's State Council, told a news conference.

Government officials have previously estimated that the death toll from Monday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake is above 50 000.

The rise in the toll came as officials in one major city near the epicentre, Deyang, sharply raised their estimate on how many residents died there to 20 000.

Sichuan province, which includes Deyang, was by far the worst hit. The state-run Xinhua news agency said on Saturday that more than 28 300 people were confirmed dead in Sichuan.

More than 10 600 others were buried in the rubble, Xinhua said, a sign that the toll could rise further.

But hopes were still alive for miracles after three men including a German tourist were pulled out alive on Saturday, more than 110 hours after the earthquake.

Across China, 15.61 million houses were damaged by the quake, with 3.13 million of them destroyed, according to official media.

- AFP