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Chinese soldiers pull out more survivors trapped under the rubble as aid pours in for tens of thousands left homeless by the devastating earthquake. Hundreds of soldiers continued to search for signs of life and pulled out survivors from piles of rubble on Friday (May 16) in the South-western province of China hit by a devastating earthquake. China put the death toll at 21,500 on Friday but expects it to exceed 50,000 after a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan province on Monday (May 12). A rescue force of 130,000 troops worked round the clock searching for survivors buried under collapsed buildings, but as the hours passed more corpses than living bodies were pulled out of the debris. But there were still small victories. Rescuers saved a girl who had been trapped in rubble for 72 hours in Hanwan town. Local television showed the girl walking towards an ambulance. "I am fine," the girl said, waving to crowds. In the same town, a boy was pulled out and taken to ambulance after being trapped for 80 hours under the debris. He murmured that he felt thirsty and wanted a drink. People cheered after a 79-year-old man was rescued after being buried for 73 hours in Dujiangyan, one of the worst-hit areas, where 900 students were buried under a school alone. Countless volunteers are stepping in to help. In the provincial capital Chengdu, a staging point for local and international aid, men and women loaded up boxes of much-needed tents, food and medicine onto trucks parked ...