By Prensa Latina,
Beijing : The death toll of the recent disastrous quake in the Chinese province of Sichuan has amounted to 20,000, according to figures revealed Thursday.
The provincial government informed that in its jurisdiction alone, over 19,500 bodies have been counted, while in nearby provinces, the figure is over 400.
The number of wounded has reached 65,000, and thousands of people are missing.
Local authorities in the cities and towns north of Chengdu, Sichuan’s capital, had previously set the amount of people trapped in the ruins at 25,788.
Rescue and aid operations in the entire region involve 130,000 soldiers, distributed throughout the 58 districts in the north of the province.
Military transport planes and choppers have carried out 300 missions so far to take food, medicine, water, blankets, and clothing for those affected in the most remote areas.
Dogs specially trained to find human beings were taken to the quake-pounded zone from Beijing’s military region, and have already found survivors among the Dujiangyan ruins.