China says over 70,000 dead or missing from quake

Chengdu: China raised the number of dead or missing from a devastating earthquake to more than 70,000 on Tuesday, as rescuers found another survivor eight days after the huge tremor hit.

Vice governor Li Chengyu of the southwestern province of Sichuan said the known death toll from the 7.9 magnitude tremor there alone had now topped 39,500. At least another 500 have been reported killed in neighbouring provinces since the earthquake took place on May 12.

Meanwhile, China tried to restore calm in the southwestern city of Chengdu on Tuesday after tens of thousands of people rushed into the streets alarmed by a television prediction of another powerful earthquake.

The prediction, along with fresh aftershocks and forecasts of heavy rain, added to the difficulties for military, government and private workers trying to ensure food and housing for millions of homeless.

Residents of Chengdu, Sichuan province's capital, rushed out for open space before midnight on Monday, alarmed by the prediction of another earthquake after May 12's 7.9 magnitude tremor, which may have killed 50,000 people.

A few hours later, a 5-magnitude aftershock rattled windows in Chengdu and likely caused more landslides on the roads leading to Pingwu, the epicentre of the aftershock, where destroyed roads have hampered relief efforts.

Seismologists say that earthquakes are very hard to predict.