China earthquake toll exceeds 71,000

19 May 2008, 6:26 pm   -   Source: AAP
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More than 71,000 people are dead, buried or missing in southwest China's Sichuan province following last week's earthquake, an official says.

More than 71,000 people are dead, buried or

missing in southwest China's Sichuan province following last week's earthquake, a top provincial leader has been quoted as saying.

The number of people officially confirmed killed in the province was 34,073, Hua Qing, a spokesman for the State Council, or Cabinet, told a news conference on Monday.

The government has estimated that the May 12 earthquake killed more than 50,000 people.

But the toll could go much higher, with the Sichuan government saying many thousands more are buried or missing in the province.

China came to a standstill on Monday exactly

one week after its earthquake tragedy, observing three minutes of silence to mourn the victims.

Chinese across the country stopped where they were and fell silent, while air-raid sirens blared and motorists honked their horns as part of an

observance that also had seen flags set at half-mast across the country.

It was the start of three days of mourning after its worst earthquake in a generation.

The earthquake - upgraded to 8.0 on the Richter scale - reduced entire towns to heaps of steel and concrete.

The Olympic torch relay has been suspended and entertainment has been curbed.

In solemn scenes broadcast on state television, Chinese soldiers performed the daily raising of the national flag at Beijing's imposing Tiananmen Square, then lowered it to half-mast.

The official grieving came amid forecasts that rain would drench quake-hit southwestern Sichuan province, compounding the misery and heightening the risk of disease for the nearly five million people left homeless.

The five-star red flag was also at half-staff in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong and at Chinese embassies overseas, according to state media.

The tragedy has triggered an outpouring of emotion in the rapidly developing country, with thousands offering to volunteer or taking to the internet to send condolences or to offer to care for orphans.

The official China News Service said the mourning was unprecedented for a national disaster in the world's most populous country.

"Faced with the mounting death toll, Chinese society has been calling for a period of mourning," it said in a commentary.

"The State Council's decision reflects the will of the people and international practices."

Even the relay of the Beijing Olympic torch - which has elicited strong excitement across China in the run-up to the Games in August - was called off for three days as a mark of respect.

The government pulled entertainment programs off television for three days. In normally bustling Shanghai, authorities ordered cinemas, karaoke bars and other leisure establishments to cease operations.

Most national newspapers switched to black and white, at least on their front pages.

Miraculously, rescuers on Sunday dug up two more survivors after they were buried under the rubble for up to 148 hours.

However, hope of finding more is fading fast. Experts say the chances of survival greatly diminish three days after an earthquake.

Heavy rain was also expected later this week in the disaster zone, making relief work even more arduous and putting at risk the 4.8 million people who have been left without homes.

Margaret Chan, the head of the World Health Organisation, said authorities needed to be ready to dispatch health workers at short notice on any sign of disease outbreak.

"Continuing surveillance is extremely important," Chan told Xinhua.

Shi Yingkang, director of the biggest hospital in the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu, said the quake zone had a serious shortage of psychologists necessary to help quake victims handle the mental trauma.

"Some patients have mental problems now," Shi, head of the Huaxi hospital, told AFP. "Some victims want to commit suicide because their family members were lost."

With roads only reopened over the weekend, some families were only now finding out news about their loved ones.

A group of 62 elderly Chinese tourists who were touring Sichuan - a scenic, mountainous province famous for its giant pandas and bamboo - made it back to the capital Chengdu late Sunday.

"It wasn't until Saturday that I knew my mother was alive," said 38-year-old Lu Yunhong, as he welcomed his mother after her two-day bus ride.

"I just can't describe how happy I am."

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