China death toll rises to 20,000
Updated on 15 May 2008
The Chinese government says the number of confirmed dead has risen to almost 20,000. Few believe that figure won't rise further.
Rescue workers are making last-ditch efforts to find any survivors of the quake that's devastated much of Sichuan province.
Officials are also concerned about the many dams in the area, especially the Zi-Ping-Pu dam.
Beichuan, at the heart of the earthquake zone, is in an area that can still only be accessed on foot because of the extent of the damage to roads and infrastructure.
A girl left her parents and husband back in Beichuan province and thinks they're dead.
In Yingxiu victims were airlifted out of a rescue helicopter after troops were unable to reach the area.
In Dujiangyan an elderly woman was pulled out of the rubble after being trapped for 65 hours.
Not far from the hardest hit town of Wenchuan, in the community of Mianzhu, a Japanese TV crew filmed a girl rescued from the rubble.
1,000 troops have been sent to this region and a bleak picture is emerging.
Sichuan TV is reporting that the local government has lost touch with 30,000 residents.
One primary school and one middle school had over 200 students buried in the rubble. But troops have failed to find anyone there so far. Many school children were buried as they were taking an afternoon nap.
