Earthquake death toll rises to 68,516

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-05-29 17:21

BEIJING -- The death toll in China's major earthquake increased by about 400 to 68,516 as of 12 pm Thursday, the Information Office of the State Council said.

A total of 365,399 people were injured and 19,350 others were missing in the 8.0-magnitude quake that jolted southwestern Sichuan Province on May 12.

About 15.15 million affected people in the quake zones have been evacuated, according to the office.

Hospitals had treated 87,391 injured people as of Thursday noon, of whom 56,580 were discharged, 15,388 were still being treated and 7,659 were transferred to other parts of China for treatment.

As of Wednesday, disaster relief workers had relocated 739,034 people to safe areas and no new survivor was found among the ruins.

As of Thursday noon, Beichuan and another 16 villages and towns were still out of electricity. The power supplies in four villages and towns in Xiaojin County of Aba were cut off due to aftershocks, the office said.

As of Wednesday, 2,500 temporary houses had been set up in the quake zones and 4,600 were under construction.



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