Miners trapped as earthquake death toll rises

Rescuers rushed to reach 24 coal miners trapped underground by China’s earthquake almost two weeks ago, officials said today as the government sharply raised the death toll and warned it could exceed 80,000.

It was not known if the miners were alive, but authorities were hoping for the best until they learned otherwise, said Wang Dexue, the deputy chief of the government’s work safety department.

“We have had the miracle in the past that a miner was found alive after being trapped underground for 21 days,” Mr Wang told a news conference in Beijing. “We are carrying out rescue work on the assumption that they are still alive. We absolutely will not give up.”

The 24 miners were trapped in three mines in Sichuan province, Mr Wang said, without giving further details. Sichuan bore the worst of the May 12 quake - China’s biggest disaster in three decades.

China’s mines are the world’s deadliest, with explosions, cave-ins and floods killing nearly 3,800 people last year.

Premier Wen Jiabao returned to the quake zone today and hosted UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a visit to Yingxiu, one of the hardest-hit towns.

The State Council, China’s Cabinet, said the latest confirmed death toll for the quake was 60,560 and listed 26,221 people as still missing.

Mr Wen warned the toll could go much higher, suggesting the government may be giving up hope of finding any more survivors.

“It may further climb to a level of 70,000, 80,000 or more,” Mr Wen told reporters in Yingxiu, near the earthquake’s epicentre.

Mr Ban, who came to China directly from another Asian disaster zone - cyclone-stricken Burma – promised the UN would help with reconstruction and that it was waiting for China’s assessment of what was needed.

“If we work hard, we can overcome this,” Mr Ban said, with Mr Wen standing at his side. “The whole world stands behind you and supports you.”

A Chinese military officer took Mr Ban on a tour of Yingxiu.

Some 4,800 of the town’s 18,000 people were killed and another 4,000 remained missing, the officer told Mr Ban. Most of the buildings in the town collapsed and those still standing were badly damaged. Reporters could see government workers in hooded white protective suits spraying disinfectant on the rubble.

Experts meanwhile searched for 15 radiation sources buried in the rubble, and survivors moved out of flood-risk areas downstream from rivers that had been dammed by landslides.

With their water pooling, the blocked rivers could breach the earthen barriers - a danger that would grow with coming rains or aftershocks.

Relief workers grappled with getting tents, food and medical care to the displaced. Mr Wen said the government needed 900,000, tents and urged Chinese manufacturers to make 30,000 a day.

The Environmental Protection Ministry said experts from its National Nuclear Safety Administration were trying to contain the 15 unspecified “sources” of radiation.

Some 50 potential radiation sources were buried by the quake, Environment Vice Minister Wu Xiaoqing said on Friday in Beijing. While 35 had been secured, 15 remained buried and inaccessible under buildings and houses, he said.

Mr Wu said the radiation was not leaking. China has said all nuclear facilities are safe and foreign experts have said the unsecured radiation material was likely from hospitals, factories or research facilities.

Even as the government battled to bring relief to the devastated areas, it shifted focus to long-term reconstruction and away from the search for survivors and bodies among the wreckage.

“Previously our main priority was the search and rescue of affected people,” Mr Wen said. “Our priority now is to resettle the affected people and to make plans for post-quake reconstruction.”

The quake destroyed more than 15 million homes, Mr Wen said. He said the government has launched an urgent effort to build temporary housing and schools, and organise rubbish collection.

Some 10,000 medical workers have been dispatched to prevent disease outbreaks, Mr Wen said.

“The second major challenge facing us is epidemic prevention and control,” the premier said, adding that no outbreaks had been reported so far.

Sichuan Vice Governor Li Chengyun said the province would aim to rebuild roads and cities within three years.

Beijing ordered China’s richest provinces and cities to adopt areas that were hit hard by the quake and to start sending aid right away, especially tents and drinking water.

In the quake-hit city of Pengzhou, signs urged people to pay attention to hygiene to prevent disease outbreaks.

As many as 9,000 injured would be transported to other provinces, Mr Li said. He said more psychologists were needed to help survivors cope, especially children orphaned by the quake.