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November 22, 2008 3:16:30 CST

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Quake Buries Nearly 19,000 in 1 Town

Posted May 13, 08 7:42 CDT in World 

(Newser) – Nearly 19,000 people are reported buried in rubble in just one Chinese town, the state media said today, as  the death toll from yesterday's 7.9 earthquake in Sichuan province climbed to 12,000. Overwhelmed rescuers worked frantically to rescue as many as possible, impeded by rain and mudslides, while hundreds of children still beneath a collapsed school have been given up for dead, reports the New York Times.

Tens of thousand of troops have been sent in to grapple with China's worst disaster in over 30 years. The area continues to be rocked by aftershocks. “We left with nothing but the clothes we’re wearing,” said one woman, cradling her infant son. “We don’t dare stay in our homes.” Premier Wen Jiabao has flown into the area to oversee operations and China is appealing for all citizens to donate blood.

Sources CNN, New York Times

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Ccitizens donate blood for the wounded after an earthquake in Chengdu, in southwest China's Sichuan province Monday, May 12, 2008.   (AP Photo)
Teachers and students at the Nanjie Primary School rest outdoors to avoid the possible aftershock in Ningqiang County, north China's Shaanxi Province, Tuesday, May 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/Xinhua, Tao Ming)
Local residents stand in the ruins of their house in the earthquake-affected Mianyang, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Tuesday, May 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/Kyodo News)
Rescue workers regard body half buried among rubble at a collapsed school in China's Sichuan province today.   (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, soldiers rescue a child from a quake affected building in Beichuan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on Tuesday, May 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/Xinhua, Chen Xie)
A Chinese man mourns the death of a student near the site of a school that collapsed in Juyuan, southwestern China's Sichuan province, Tuesday, May 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Chinese residents mourn the death of a student whose remains was retrieved from the site of a school that collapsed in Juyuan, southwestern China's Sichuan province, Tuesday, May 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, relief soldiers carry out the wounded in the earthquake-affected Beichuan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Tuesday, May 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/Xinhua, Chen Xie)
Rescue workers pull out a young girl from under the rubble of a collapsed school in Juyuan, southwestern China's Sichuan province, Tuesday, May 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Rescue workers pull out a young girl from under the rubble of a collapsed school in Juyuan, southwestern China's Sichuan province, Tuesday, May 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
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A rescue team arrives in Chengdu.   (cctvupload)

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China • earthquake • Sichuan province • disaster zones • Wen Jiabao


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