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China earthquake death toll rises to more than 55,000
The death toll in China's worst earthquake in decades has risen to 55,239, Sichuan's vice governor Li Chengyun told a news conference in Beijing on Friday.
- Agencies
- Published: 09:03 May 23, 2008
- Image Credit: Reuters
- A local resident carries belongings after digging them out from the ruins of collapsed houses in earthquake-hit Sichuan province in China.
Beijing: The death toll in China's worst earthquake in decades has risen to 55,239, Sichuan's vice governor Li Chengyun told a news conference in Beijing on Friday.
The onset of the rainy season also threatened to swell dangerous "quake lakes" and compound the difficulties of reconstruction after the earthquake.
A landslide triggered by an aftershock in Wenchuan county, at the epicentre, on Thursday crushed a house, killing two people, state media said on Friday.
More than 25,000 remain missing and another 281,000 are injured, Li said, adding that disease, rain and aftershocks could bring more disaster.
He said this was a "peak period for outbreaks of diseases", describing the situation as very grim, but was optimistic about short-term relief.
More than 5 million people are now living in tents or under makeshift cover and Li said the government is trying to provide temporary housing for at least 98 per cent of them.
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