China says quake toll could rise above 50,000

WENCHUAN - The death toll from China's massive earthquake could soar to more than 50,000, state media reported on Thursday, as rescuers struggled to help survivors and hope faded for the thousands buried under rubble.
Already some 20,000 are confirmed dead as a result of Monday's 7.9 magnitude quake and 25,000 remained buried in areas rescuers have struggled to reach, battling landslides, buckled roads, collapsed bridges and wet weather.
The Communist Party leadership told officials to "ensure social stability" in rescue efforts, as the quake spawned rumours of chemical spills, fears of dam bursts and scenes of collective desperation.
Rescuers in the city of Dujiangyan, in the worst-hit province of Sichuan, wrapped corpses dragged from the rubble in tarpaulins and sped them to morgues.
They were so busy that a notice outside one collapsed school asked parents to search for missing children in shifts.
About 130,000 army and paramilitary troops assisted the search and rescue effort in Sichuan, sifting through dozens of towns turned to rubble.
But three days after the quake, hopes of pulling survivors from the ruins dimmed and the waves of rescuers appear to be hampered by lack of specialised equipment.
Still, there were moments of joy and relief. "Thank you, thank you," one 22-year-old said after she was eventually pulled to safety, covering her face against the light in Dujiangyan. She had been trapped, unable to move, under the ruins of a hospital.
Food and water
The strains from tens of thousands of homeless were also growing.
"There is enough food but not enough water. We have only had bottled mineral water the past few days, nothing to cook with," said Wang Yujie, a teacher whose school withstood the quake.
More aid was arriving and efforts at coordination were also improving, with Sichuan setting up a hotline for victims and ambulances with Beijing licence plates on the roads.
More than 12.5 tonnes of relief goods had been airdropped and scores of helicopters were flying in rescuers and aid.
Official said quilts, tents, food and satellite phones were needed most. The Health Ministry's Gao Qiang said medical needs ranged from basics like bandages and antibiotics to sophisticated equipment such as ventilators and kidney dialysis machines.
In some villages near the badly hit area of Beichuan, angry residents complained they had had little to eat and were forced to drink contaminated water.
Many are sleeping outside or in makeshift shelters where the lack of water and blocked toilets has raised fears of disease, but Gao said there had been no reports of epidemics.
But new threats emerged from damaged dams.
Minister for Water Resources, Chen Lei, said such damage was widespread and sounded far from assured in comments put on the ministry Web site (www.mwr.gov.cn) on Thursday.
"... Damage from the quake is extensive and the hazards are unclear," Chen said in the speech to officials.
And the minister blamed more than nature for the dangers.
"Because the management systems of hydro-power stations are not smooth and information channels are blocked, the extent of their damage is unclear," Chen said.
Triumphs amid disaster
Premier Wen Jiabao, a geologist himself, has made emotional appeals from the disaster zone urging on workers and comforting orphaned children. On Thursday visited Qingchuan, where landslides had blocked the flow of two rivers.
The disaster area is also home to China's chief nuclear weapons research lab in Mianyang, as well as several secretive atomic sites, but no nuclear power stations.
The China Nuclear Engineering and Construction Corp reported that several of its facilities in Sichuan were damaged.
The report on its website (www.cnecc.com) did not mention any radiation leaks. A Western expert with knowledge of the Mianyang lab said it was not likely the facilities were at serious risk.
Amid the devastation, there were still small triumphs.
Rescuers reached a 62-year-old man after an all-night search, prompting a round of applause from onlookers, who took pictures with their mobile phones.
A teenage girl was freed from the rubble of her school, but at the cost of both her legs which doctors had to amputate.
Thirty-three tourists from Britain, the United States and France were airlifted out of a panda reserve, but Xinhua said 893 foreign tourists remained trapped. One German was among the victims, the Foreign Ministry said.
Offers of help were pouring in.
Chinese rushed to blood banks in Beijing, with at least 3,300 people in the capital donating blood in a single day.
China also welcomed supply flights from rival Taiwan and a relief team from Japan to help rebuild after the quake that is the worst to hit China since 1976 when up to 300,000 died.