Storms hamper rescue as China quake toll nears 12,000

By Ben Blanchard

DUJIANGYAN, China (Reuters) - The death toll from China's most devastating earthquake in three decades has jumped to at least 11,921, a top disaster official said on Tuesday, as storms hampered rescuers in the most devastated areas.

State media reports indicated that the number of dead from the 7.9 magnitude quake was likely to soar.

Xinhua news agency said 10,000 people were buried in the Mianzhu area of southwestern Sichuan province alone. Troops had also arrived for the first time at Wenchuan county, the epicentre of the quake.

"The death toll from this disaster has already reached 11,921," Wang Zhenyao, disaster relief chief under the Ministry of Civil Affairs, told reporters.

"The first priority is to save people... As long as there is the slightest hope, we will try to save them," Wang said, adding that the biggest threat to life was now mudslides.

It was not immediately clear whether Wang's toll was confined to Sichuan province. Hundreds more have perished in neighbouring provinces.

A strong aftershock rocked Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, on Tuesday afternoon, one of more than 1,950 over the past day and keeping nervous residents on edge.

"Office workers in downtown Chengdu took to the streets again after the quake," Xinhua said, adding it was thought to be the strongest since Monday's tremor.