China earthquake toll tops 40,000
Pastor Dale Morgan
China earthquake toll tops 40,000*
BBC - The death toll from last week's devastating earthquake in
south-west China has risen to 40,075, senior government officials have said.
Tens of thousands more are still missing, and hopes are fading of
finding many people still alive.
Teams are still pulling bodies from rubble, eight days after the quake.
A man was pulled alive from the remains of a power plant after being
buried for 179 hours, local media said. Rescuers fed him sweetened water
through a tube.
The rescue effort has now focused on providing food, shelter and
drinking water for the millions of people affected by the 7.9 magnitude
earthquake in Sichuan province.
Rescuers are in a final push to fan out to all affected areas after
Monday saw Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao ordered troops to reach every
single town and village in the earthquake zone within 24 hours.
Man pulled alive from collapsed building eight days after quake
China is on its second day of a three-day period of mourning for victims
of the disaster.
Flags are flying at half-mast, entertainment events have been cancelled
and the Olympic torch relay suspended.
Aid appeal
A statement by the State Council, China's cabinet, said 236,359 people
had been injured in the quake.
Another 32,361 people remain missing in the quake zone, the council
said. An estimated five million people have been made homeless.
China's foreign ministry has appealed to the international community to
provide tents.
To help raise money for the long-term relief effort, the government is
to sell special stamps starting next month.
Thirteen million of the stamps, featuring three interlocking hearts on a
red background, will be sold, potentially raising as much as $4m (£2m).
But Japan's foreign minister criticised China for not accepting foreign
aid workers sooner.
"It would have been better if the decision was quicker," Masahiko Komura
said, quoted by AFP news agency.
Tens of thousands of people in Sichuan province rushed from their homes
on Monday after a government warning of a possible major aftershock.
People slept on the streets or drove to open ground after the warning,
which was broadcast on television, triggered panic.
Roads out of Sichuan's provincial capital, Chengdu, were jammed as
people headed for the open ground of the province's agricultural plains.
Dozens of aftershocks have rattled the area, the strongest of which had
a magnitude of 6.1.