China: Earthquake death toll tops 51,000
China said the death toll from last week's powerful earthquake jumped to more than 51,000, while the government appealed Thursday for millions of tents to shelter homeless survivors. The confirmed number of dead rose to 51,151, a jump of almost 10,000 from the day before, Cabinet spokesman Guo Weimin told a news conference. Another 29,328 people remained missing and nearly 300,000 were hurt in the May 12 quake centered in Sichuan province, he said.