(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-05-20 16:44

Beijing -- The death toll from the devastating earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province rose to 40,075 nationwide as of 6 p.m. Tuesday, while 247,645 people were injured, according to the Information Office of the State Council.

Li Chengyun, vice governor of Sichuan Province, told reporters on Tuesday afternoon that 39,577 people have been confirmed dead in Sichuan and 60,026 have been rescued from earthquake debris and close to 4.85 million people relocated.

The official called for urgent aid of tents, "the quake zones need more than 3 million tents ... if the public wants to donate, please donate tents."

By Tuesday, 124 orphans, senior people who lost their family members during Sichuan's devastating earthquake and handicapped people left unprovided for have been found in China's quake-hit areas, Jiang Li, vice minister of civil affairs said.

Soldiers feed milk to Song Xinyi, a 3-year-old earthquake survivor, in earthquake-hit Beichuan County, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 14, 2008. [Xinhua]

Donations to the quake-hit regions had reached 13.925 billion yuan (US$2.01 billion) with 12.516 billion yuan in cash and 1.408 yuan in relief supplies as of Tuesday noon.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs, armed forces and RCSC had dispatched 278,462 tents, 783,984 quilts and 1.78 million cotton-padded clothes as well as food and drinking water worth of 218 million yuan to the quake zones by 1 pm Tuesday, said Jiang.

China has recovered 30 of the 32 radioactive sources buried in last Monday's earthquake, while the remained two have been located, a senior environmental official said on Tuesday.

DNA database, photos to help identify quake victims

The Chinese government said it is to build a DNA database of those unidentified dead bodies after the disastrous Sichuan earthquake for later identification.

The government is going to cremate identified dead bodies and allow  burial in those areas where cremation service is unavailable.

For those yet to be identified, the government said, police and medical workers will keep a numbered record, take pictures and collect body tissues for DNA tests. The police will manage the DNA database for future identification.

A team of 160 forensic experts bringing equipment from neighboring provinces has reached the quake-hit regions of Sichuan, said the Ministry of Public Security.

They will be divided into 44 teams to assist local forensic workers in recording the corpses and collecting blood samples to help identify the  victims, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We brought about 30 digital cameras and we will take photos of every dead victim and every piece of valuable property we find," said Tang Yanfeng, brigadier of an army brigade doing rescue work at Pengzhou, Sichuan.

The photos will be copied on compact discs and handed over to the civil affairs departments.

Family members of many local victims were not able to reach the site and claim the corpses and there were tourists killed in the quake as well, Tang said.

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