Death Toll in China Quake Could Soar to 50,000

Crews are using cranes and backhoes to search for survivors who may be buried in the rubble of schools, offices and factories. Nearly 26,000 people remain trapped in buildings, the Associated Press reported.

But the time to find people still alive may be drawing short, said Gu Linsheng, a researcher with Tsinghua University's Emergency Management Research Center.

"Generally speaking, anyone buried in an earthquake can survive without water and food for three days. After that, it's usually a miracle for anyone to survive."

The government asked its citizens to lend hammers, shovels and cranes in a rare public appeal for help. China's Defense Ministry planned to deploy 101 more helicopters. More than 130,000 soldiers and police joined to offer aid to survivors. Officials called for nurses and doctors to help the injured.

The confirmed death toll released by the Earthquake and Disaster Relief Headquarters of China's State Council stood at 19,509 but warned that that number could rise. Half of the 20 million people living in the province were directly affected by the earthquake.

"The whole county has been destroyed. Basically there is no Beichuan county anymore," said Gu Qinghui, the East Asia disaster management director for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Many of the victims were children trapped in classrooms that collapsed when the earthquake struck mid-afternoon. Parents - many of whom lost their only child - rushed to the schools but many were forbidden from searching for their children, the New York Times reported. They have blamed various local officials for their slow rescue attempts.

Chinese residents have contributed $125 million to the rescue efforts and the government accepted a rescue team from Japan and tents and medical supplies from Taiwan. Pakistan also sent two planes of supplies, including food, medicine, bottled water, tents and blankets.

The International Olympic Committee pledge about $1 million and will funnel the money through Chinese relief agencies. China hosts the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing beginning in August.