By IRNA,
Beijing : The death toll from China’s massive earthquake could reach 50,000, the official Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.
The government issued a rare appeal to the Chinese public calling for donations of rescue equipment including hammers, shovels, demolition tools and rubber boats.
The public request is emblematic of China’s relative openness in dealing with the tragedy, as compared to past crises.
“This is only a beginning of this battle, and a long way lies ahead of us,” Vice Health Minister Gao Qiang told reporters in Beijing.
No outbreaks of disease had struck refugees, who were being immunized against some illnesses, Gao said. Workers were seeking to ensure safety of drinking water and removing corpses to prevent the spread of bacteria.
After days of refusing foreign relief workers, China accepted an offer from Japan to send a rescue team, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement.
Taiwan’s Red Cross said rival China also agreed to accept a 20-person emergency relief team from the island.
Taiwan is also sending a cargo plane to Chengdu with tents and medical supplies. The Air Macau plane will make a brief stop in Macau.
Taiwan and China, which split during civil war in 1949, have banned regular direct links and other formal contacts as political disputes persist.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies also issued an emergency appeal for medical help, food, water and tents.
Gu Qinghui, the federation’s disaster management director for East Asia who visited Beichuan county near the epicenter, said more than 4 million homes were shattered across the quake area.
“The whole county has been destroyed. Basically there is no Beichuan county anymore,” Gu said in Beijing, adding the death toll was sure to rise.
Forty-four counties and districts in Sichuan were severely hit, with about half of the 20 million people living there directly affected, Xinhua said.