China Quake Toll Rises to 7,600

10K could be injured, with authorities still trying to grasp extend of damage
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted May 12, 2008 11:16 AM CDT
China Quake Toll Rises to 7,600
In this photo distributed by the official Xinhua news agency, rescuers search for students at Juyuan Middle School in Juyuan Township of Dujiangyan City, about 100 kilometers from the epicenter in Wenchuan county of southwest China's Sichuan province, on Monday May 12, 2008.   (AP Photo/Xinhua, Chen Xie)

The earthquake that shook central China has claimed at least 7,651 lives and injured 10,000 more in Sichuan province, the Washington Post reports. In Beichuan county, which accounted for more than 5,000 dead, local news said 80% of the buildings had been toppled. 

Chinese news agencies recall a litany of horrors: 900 students trapped in a collapsed high school, several hundred pinned under rubble of two chemical plants, hospitals destroyed region-wide. President Bush said the US “stands ready to help” if China requests it. (More China stories.)

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