Earthquake rocks China
NEW YORK (May 12, 2008)—UNICEF China is deeply concerned that large numbers of children could be affected by a major earthquake in Sichuan Province. At this writing the latest death toll stands at 7,650, according to China Central Television. A series of large earthquakes struck the Wenchuan district of Sichuan at approximately 2:30 pm (Beijing Time) on May 12. The tremors were felt by UNICEF staff in Beijing some 930 miles to the north.
UNICEF is attempting to gather information about casualties, but access to information from the affected areas is extremely limited. It is reported that cell phone networks have been substantially affected by the earthquakes. Scattered early news reports coming from Wenchuan in Sichuan province indicate that confirmed deaths number some 600 at this hour. China Central Televison reports that in one middle school in the city of Du Jiangyan, near Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan 50 children were killed when their three story school building collapsed and another 900 students are trapped in the rubble. There are additional reports that 3-5,000 have died in Beichan county in Sichuan, with another 10,000 wounded. Reports of additional casualties have also been received from Gansu and Yunnan provinces.
UNICEF works extensively with government counterparts in Sichuan province. Sichuan is one of the poorest and most populous provinces in China. The total population of the province is approximately 85-90 million. The population of the capital Chengdu is over 10 million.
The number of people killed, injured and affected by this large earthquake will rise as additional affected areas are reached by rescue teams over the coming hours.
