By Emma Graham-Harrison and Aly Song
YINGXIU, China (Reuters) - The death toll from China'searthquake could soar to more than 50,000, state media reportedon Thursday, as rescuers struggled to help survivors and hopefaded for the thousands buried under rubble.
Some 20,000 are confirmed dead after Monday's 7.9 magnitudequake and 25,000 were buried in areas rescuers have struggledto reach, battling landslides, buckled roads and collapsedbridges.
Half the epicentre town of Yingxiu, where corpses are linedalong the river, has been flattened and 90 percent of thebuildings remaining look unsafe.
Zhang Yuejiao, 18, ran out of her school as it collapsed,with school buildings appearing to be the biggest victims ofthe tremor across Sichuan, a province as big as France.
"We have been waiting to try to find out what happened tomy brother," she said calmly. "His school collapsed and wehaven't been able to find him."
Helicopters arrived every 15 minutes to take the injuredaway and soldiers had walked in 40 km (24 miles) to help.
The Communist Party told officials to "ensure socialstability" as the quake spawned rumours of chemical spills,fears of dam bursts and scenes of collective desperation.
Xinhua news agency said 17 "malicious rumourmongers" hadbeen punished for spreading "false information, sensationalstatements and sapping public confidence".
Rescuers in the city of Dujiangyan wrapped corpses draggedfrom the rubble in tarpaulins and sped them to morgues.
They were so busy that a notice outside one collapsedschool asked parents to search for missing children in shifts.
About 130,000 army and paramilitary troops assisted thesearch and rescue effort in Sichuan, sifting through dozens oftowns turned to rubble.
But three days after the quake, hopes of pulling survivorsfrom the ruins dimmed and the waves of rescuers appear to behampered by lack of specialised equipment.
Still, there were moments of joy and relief. "Thank you,thank you," one 22-year-old said after she was eventuallypulled to safety, covering her face against the light inDujiangyan. She had been trapped, unable to move, under theruins of a hospital.
A teenage girl told Xinua how she and her classmates sangpop songs together as they lay trapped and injured in the ruinsof their high school.
Rescuers reached a 62-year-old man after an all-nightsearch, prompting a round of applause from onlookers.
A teenage girl was freed from the rubble of her school, butat the cost of both her legs which doctors had to amputate. Anda 3-year-old girl was rescued after being shielded from therubble by her dead parents.
Thirty-three tourists from Britain, the United States andFrance were airlifted out of a panda reserve, but Xinhua said893 foreign tourists remained trapped. One German was among thevictims, the Foreign Ministry said.
FOOD AND WATER
But the strains from tens of thousands of homeless weregrowing.
"There is enough food but not enough water. We have onlyhad bottled mineral water the past few days, nothing to cookwith," said Wang Yujie, a teacher whose school withstood thequake.
More aid was arriving and efforts at coordination were alsoimproving, with Sichuan setting up a hotline for victims andambulances with Beijing licence plates on the roads.
More than 12.5 tonnes of relief goods had been airdroppedand scores of helicopters were flying in rescuers and aid.
Officials said quilts, tents, food and satellite phoneswere needed most. The Health Ministry said medical needs rangedfrom basics like bandages and antibiotics to sophisticatedequipment such as ventilators and kidney dialysis machines.
In some villages near the badly hit area of Beichuan, angryresidents complained they had had little to eat and were forcedto drink contaminated water.
Many are sleeping outside or in makeshift shelters wherethe lack of water and blocked toilets has raised fears ofdisease, but the Health Ministry said there had been no reportsof epidemics.
But new threats emerged from damaged dams.
Minister for Water Resources, Chen Lei, said such damagewas widespread and sounded far from assured in comments put onthe ministry Web site (www.mwr.gov.cn) on Thursday. He blamedmore than nature for the dangers.
"Because the management systems of hydro-power stations arenot smooth and information channels are blocked, the extent oftheir damage is unclear," Chen said.
Premier Wen Jiabao, a geologist himself, has made emotionalappeals from the disaster zone urging on workers and comfortingorphaned children.
The disaster area is also home to China's chief nuclearweapons research lab in Mianyang, as well as several secretiveatomic sites, but no nuclear power stations.
The China Nuclear Engineering and Construction Corpreported that several of its facilities in Sichuan weredamaged.
It did not mention any radiation leaks. A Western expertwith knowledge of the Mianyang lab said it was not likely thefacilities were at serious risk.
(Writing by Nick Macfie; Additional reporting by BenBlanchard, John Ruwitch, Lindsay Beck, Guo Shipeng and SallyHuang; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
