9,000 feared dead after China quake

It struck on an ordinary sunny afternoon and lasted for a terrifying three minutes.

According to the latest figures almost 9,000 people have lost their lives in China's worst earthquake for 30 years. And the death toll is rising by the hour. The injured are thought to be in the tens of thousands.

Rescuers in the mountainous Sichuan province are battling to reach hundreds of people trapped in the rubble of schools, factories and a hospital - some areas are still cut off.

The epicentre of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake was in Wenchuan. 80 per cent of the buildings in nearby Beichuan are reported to have been flattened - and at least 5,000 people are feared dead there alone.

In neighbouring Dujiangyan it's thought 900 teenagers are buried beneath a collapsed school.

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