Chinese prime minister says quake toll may hit 80,000

Yingxiu: Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said on Saturday that the death toll from a massive earthquake on May 12 had passed 60,000 and could reach 80,000 or more.

Nearly 12 per cent of those killed were students and teachers, the Beijing News reported.

The earthquake damaged thousands of infrastructures in China, including 13,451 schools, said Tu Wentao, head of the provincial education office.

The earthquake struck when school children were at their desks, burying many of them when their school collapsed.

The government has already launched a probe into the huge numbers of school collapses. Angry parents have accused the government of failing to meet safety standards.