China warns of burst dams as quake death toll rises

By Emma Graham-Harrison

DUJIANGYAN, China (Reuters) - The death toll from China's deadliest earthquake in decades climbed to nearly 15,000 on Wednesday, as officials warned of calamities downstream from broken rivers and dams strained to bursting point.

Tens of thousands of troops, firefighters and civilians raced to save more than 25,000 people buried across a wide swathe of southwest Sichuan province under collapsed schools, factories and hospitals after Monday's 7.9 magnitude quake.

Many schoolchildren were buried as they were taking an afternoon nap. One body of a boy was found still clutching a pen.

The official death toll climbed to 14,866, as rescuers pulled at tangled chunks of buildings for signs of life.

The government sent 50,000 troops to dig for victims. A paramilitary officer who arrived at Wenchuan, at the epicentre, told Sichuan TV a third of houses there had been destroyed and more than 90 percent damaged.

Amid the overwhelming gloom, there were also moments of joy.

In Mianzhu, where thousands have already been confirmed dead, about 500 people were pulled out alive from crushed buildings.

Rescuers in Hanwang, a village in Mianzhu, sustained a girl with food and water as they struggled to free her from the ruins of a school.