Disaster
China announces three days of national mourning; Olympic torch relay suspended
The death toll in worst-hit Sichuan province, southwestern China, raised to at least 34,073 with another 245,109 people hurt, Chinese government officials said Monday. Authorities have estimated that the final death toll could reach 50,000, while millions more people have been left homeless by the disaster.
So far, almost 60 aid organizations from 13 countries have provided assistance to China in the aftermath of the quake. Among the countries are India, France, Singapore, the Philippines and the United States.
Two U.S. military planes landed in Chengdu Sunday with blankets, water and other relief supplies. The first plane -- a C-17 cargo jet -- flew from a U.S. base in Hawaii, while the second flight came from Alaska, officials said.
The quake was the worst tremor to strike China in three decades; a 1976 earthquake killed more than 250,000 people.
Rony Gedeon
Roykadry
