More than 50,000 people are feared dead in southwest China's Sichuan Province alone after Monday's earthquake, the rescue headquarters of the State Council said Thursday.

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Wenchuan County, about 159 km northwest of the provincial capital of Chengdu, has severely affected an area of more than 100,000 square km, according to the rescue headquarters headed by Premier Wen Jiabao.

The confirmed death toll in Sichuan was 19,509 by 4 p.m. Thursday, up by 5,046 from Wednesday's 14,463, Li Chengyun, vice provincial governor of Sichuan told a press conference.

Another 102,103 people were injured and 12,323 buried in the rubble, he said.

Rescuers have pulled 13,465 people alive out of the debris, he said.

The Sichuan provincial government has handed over 670 million yuan (95.7 million U.S. dollars) for disaster relief efforts to quake-hit areas, he added.

PLA SOLDIERS HAILED

It was the worst earthquake to strike China since the Tangshan earthquake in northern Hebei Province in 1976, which claimed 242,000 lives.

The tremors were also felt in most parts of the country.

In regions neighboring Sichuan, 280 were killed in Gansu Province, 106 in Shaanxi Province, 14 in Chongqing Municipality, two in Henan Province, one in Yunnan Province and one in Hubei Province.

China has mobilized more than 130,000 troops for rescue operations, who were desperate to excavate survivors with the passing of the prime time for survivors' rescue -- 72 hours after the quake.

"The PLA soldiers are saviors for us. Without them, my daughter couldn't have survived," said Song Xuanzhong, from Nanchong City of Sichuan.

His daughter Song Yanmei, a young beautician, had been buried in the rubble of a collapsed beauty parlor in Yingxiu Township of Wenchuan County, the epicenter, for almost three days by Thursday afternoon.

It took four hours for a dozen of PLA (People's Liberation Army) soldiers to remove a huge pile of debris almost only by hands and pull Song Yanmei out, the senior Song said.

More than 3,000 PLA soldiers were racing the clock to search for survivors at Yingxiu, a township of about 6,600 people.

Chinese media these days have been paying tribute to the PLA soldiers, who are always the main force in rescue operation when natural disasters hit the country, hailing them as the most loveable persons in the country.

"I know you will come to save me. So I'm not afraid. I have been lying here in peace and waiting for you," a little girl buried deep in the debris told a group of soldiers who came to rescue her, as a CCTV (China Central Television) news footage showed on Thursday.

INT'L AID

China has accepted offers from Russia, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Singapore to send rescue teams to Sichuan as the first foreign rescuers from Japan entered the province early on Friday.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said early Friday morning that the Chinese government accepted offers from the three countries by taking into consideration of their contiguity to China, which may ensure promptness of the aid.

A 31-member Japanese rescue team arrived in the Chengdu airport early on Friday to assist local disaster relief efforts, and they soon left for the hard-hit Guanzhuang Town of Qingchuan County about 400 km away.

"We were told that the situation there is serious and we have no idea about the structure of buildings there. But we are confident about fulfilling our task," said Takashi Koizumi, head of the team.

A second group of 29 Japanese rescuers are expected to arrive in Sichuan Friday afternoon.

The Japanese rescue team, made up of fire fighters, police, Japan Coast Guard personnel and members of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, were the first foreign aid personnel to China following the devastating quake.

"It is also the first time in history for foreign professional rescuers to join in China's disaster relief work," said Li Wenliang, a counselor of the Foreign Ministry.

Japan's offer of sending a professional emergency relief team to the quake-hit areas showed the Japanese government and people's care, "especially when China is in a difficult time," Qin Gang said Thursday at a regular news conference.

As of 2 p.m. on Thursday, 151 countries and 14 regional or international organizations had offered support in various forms.

China is deeply grateful for the messages of support and the earthquake relief aid coming from the international community, Qin said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 15, 2008)