Foreign Aid Arrives As Quake Region's Death Toll Nears 40,000

The death toll from China's earthquake has reached almost 40,000 in Sichuan, the province's government confirmed today.

The announcement came as foreign medical teams and mobile hospital equipment were dispatched to the region after government appeals for medical aid from the international community.

With only slim hopes of finding more people alive, the scope of the mission has shifted to caring for those who have survived, including the 250,000 people left injured.

The death toll is expected to pass 50,000 and 5 million people have been left homeless after the 7.9-magnitude quake last Monday, according to China's state council.

The Sichuan vice-governor, Li Chengyun, told a news conference there were 39,577 confirmed deaths in the province, 236,359 people had been injured and 32,361 were missing.

Hundreds of aftershocks have been felt over the past week, leaving thousands of people so anxious they are sleeping in cars and in the street, fearing more building collapses.

Temporary housing was being set up by the government for those unable to stay with relatives, but Jiang Li, the vice-minister of civil affairs, said there was a "desperate need for tents" to accommodate them.

Nearly 280,000 tents had been shipped to the area and 700,000 more had been ordered, Jiang said.

"Despite generous donations, the disaster is so great that victims still face a challenge in finding living accommodation," she said.

Qin Gang, the foreign ministry spokesman, said ''China is willing to work closely'' with outside doctors. "But given the situation, and difficulties in the area, including transportation and telecommunications, it is not possible for us to accept all of the rescue and medical teams to engage in relief work."

A Russian medical team arrived with a mobile hospital today in Chengdu, the Sichuan provincial capital. The Taiwan Red Cross had sent a 37-member medical team to the disaster zone, Japan had sent a 23-strong disaster relief team and medical crews had been sent by the US, Germany and Italy.

Further stories of extraordinary rescues have emerged.

Ma Yuanjiang, 31, was saved after being trapped for 179 hours in the ruins of the Yingxiu Bay hydropower plant, where he worked as a director, after a 30-hour rescue effort.

A miner, Peng Guohua, was rescued yesterday and was in stable condition after being trapped for 170 hours.

A giant panda was returned to safety after going missing from the Wolong giant panda nature reserve. Two others remained unaccounted for but a forestry officer said they were ''very likely to be alive'', although they could be distressed by the number of aftershocks.

The quake killed five members of the reserve's staff and destroyed or damaged all 32 panda houses.

The local government had sent emergency supplies of bamboo and veterinary medicine for the pandas, along with food and tents for staff.

Donations for disaster relief have reached 10.8bn yuan (£790,000) but people have been warned to donate through official channels and be on guard against internet scams. Two people were arrested in Guangdong province in southern China for setting up a fake donation website.