Confirmed quake death toll tops 34,000: China
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The confirmed death toll from last week's massive earthquake in China has risen to 34,073, a government spokesman said on Monday. More than 200 relief workers were reported buried over the past three days by mudslides while repairing roads in Sichuan. (UPDATED)
The new toll marked a rise of 1,900 confirmed deaths since Sunday from the earthquake, the epicentre of which was located in southwestern Sichuan provinces Wenchuan county.
"By 12 noon (0400 GMT) on May 19, the 8.0 magnitude earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan, China, has caused 34,073 deaths," Hua Qing, a spokesman for the State Council, or Cabinet, told a news conference, AFP reported.
Another 245,108 people were injured in the disaster, he said. Â
The government has estimated that the May 12 earthquake killed more than 50,000 people.Â
But the toll could go much higher, with the Sichuan government saying Monday that more than 71,000 people were dead, buried or missing in the province.
China's state news agency, Xinhua said on Monday more than 200 relief workers have been buried by mudslides over the last three days in Sichuan province. The workers were buried while repairing damaged roads; no reports on the number of casualties have been released.
Photo: AFP