The number of schoolchildren who died in China’s massive earthquake last year is still being calculated, an official said today.

ONLY a little more than a quarter of the 70,000 people who died in a massive earthquake that struck Sichuan province in May have been identified, a Chinese official said yesterday, as authorities rushed to prepare stricken areas for the coming winter.

More than 19,000 schoolchildren died in a massive earthquake that struck Sichuan province in May, China acknowledged today for the first time.