| 12 weeks 1 day 5 hours ago Quake death toll may reach 50,000
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(NECN/ABC) - In China, the official number of dead is nearing 20,000, but Chinese officials say the toll from Monday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake could rise to 50,000. An estimated 26,000 people remain trapped beneath rubble and time to rescue them is running out.
Each minute is critical now for those trapped, and those trying to rescue them. It took two days to free one 67-year-old man trapped under the rubble of a hospital. He was found clutching his dead wife.
Across China, despair is setting in.
At the Juyuan Middle School, 900 students were buried when the building collapsed. Rescue workers have stopped looking for survivors there.
Under China's one-child policy, hundreds of mothers and fathers are now left alone.
The vast level of destruction is also posing new challenges. Hundreds of dams are damaged.
Up to 500,000 people are homeless. They are taking refuge in makeshift shelters.
The Chinese government has deployed at least 130,000 troops.
ABC's Gloria Riviera reports.
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