The death toll from a Monday earthquake in Southwest China's Sichuan Province has climbed to 9,219, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
The 7.8-magnitude quake has left 9,219 people dead in eight affected provinces and municipality including Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Chongqing, Yunnan, Shanxi, Guizhou and Hubei, the ministry said in a release issued at 7 a.m. Tuesday.
Of the killed, 8,993 were in Sichuan, 132 in Gansu, 85 in Shaanxi, eight in Chongqing and one in Yunnan, the ministry said.
The Sichuan provincial seismological bureau said more than 1,180 tremors up to six magnitude have been recorded as of 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday.
Government in Shifang City of Deyang City, where a major chemical leak happened after the quake, said about 600 people died, including 81 students. As many as 2,300 people are still buried, in which 920 are students.
In Anxian County of Mianyang City, about 500 people died, and 85 percent of the houses in rural areas collapsed.
Dozens of military vehicles are heading to Beichuan County, where officials said about 80 percent of the buildings collapsed.
Escaped villagers said the old town of Beichuan was tightly covered by giant swaths of debris slides, and the new town also suffered grave damages, particularly kindergartens, primary and middle schools, and vocational schools.
The rescuers were stranded about 10 kilometers from the county.
Rocks slid down the mountains and piled upon boulders the size of a house which already jammed up the road sections.
Local villagers said the rocks came down in scary roaring noises when the quake occurred. They warned that it was very dangerous to move ahead, as the rock slides could push the vehicles down the hill and straight into a river that runs in the valley.
People stay outdoors in Mianzhu, some 60 km away from Wenchuan County, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 13, 2008. [Xinhua Photo]
Rescuers work in Dujiangyan City of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 13, 2008. [Xinhua Photo]
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