Photo Divine Rapier
CHENGDU, China (CNN)
A powerful 5.8 magnitude aftershock hit China’s Sichuan province Sunday, reportedly damaging more than 70,000 homes in the region where at least 60,000 people were killed by a powerful earthquake on May 12. More than 70,000 homes in the area were damaged by the aftershock, according to local television reports. Meanwhile, the death toll from this month’s earthquake in China reached 62,664, a government official said Sunday. Another 23,775 are still missing.
At the Sunday news conference, a civil affairs ministry official said rescue workers have pulled alive 6,537 people from the rubble of the May 12 earthquake. A water ministry official said at the same conference that 69 dams are in danger of bursting in Sichuan province. Since the quake struck, workers have made several dramatic rescues. But the numbers have dwindled in recent days as time has passed. And continued rain in the coming days threatened to make relief efforts more difficult.
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Tags: 62664, 70000 homes damaged, aftershock, Death toll, Sichuan province
