China Earthquake: Death Toll Could Reach 50,000, Says State TV
May 15, 2008 - LUOSHUI TOWN, China — Troops dug burial pits in this quake-shattered town and black smoke poured from crematorium chimneys elsewhere in central China as priorities began shifting Thursday from the hunt for survivors to dealing with the dead. Officials said the final toll could more than double to 50,000.
As the massive military-led recovery operation inched farther into regions cut off by…