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The death toll from China's earthquake could soar to more than 50,000, state media reported on Thursday (May 15), as rescuers struggled to help survivors and hope faded for the thousands buried under rubble. Some 20,000 are confirmed dead after a 7.9 magnitude quake struck on Monday (May 12) and 25,000 were buried in areas rescuers have struggled to reach, battling landslides, buckled roads and collapsed bridges. "My father is dead and his body still buried in the mountain, but I don't know where it was," said Zhou Fude, who lives in Beichuan in Sichuan Province. "You could barely open your eyes to watch the scene, there are dead bodies everywhere, bodies lying on both sides of the road, they were so many," added Mr. Wong, another villager from the area. Rescuers in the city of Dujiangyan wrapped corpses dragged from the rubble in tarpaulins and sped them to morgues. About 130,000 army and paramilitary troops assisted the search and rescue effort in Sichuan, sifting through dozens of towns turned to rubble. But three days after the quake, hopes of pulling survivors from the ruins dimmed and the waves of rescuers appear to be hampered 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 eventually pulled to safety, covering her face against the light in Dujiangyan. She had been trapped, unable to move, under the ruins of a hospital. The disaster area is also home to China's chief n...