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Beijing, China - The death toll from last month's massive earthquake in southwest China is likely to exceed 80,000, state media reported on Tuesday, citing a vice-premier.
The estimate on the toll from the magnitude-8.0 quake that hit southwest China's Sichuan province on May 12 was provided by Vice Premier Hui Liangyu, the Xinhua news agency said.
The latest official death toll from the quake was 69,181, with 18,498 missing, according to the government.
The numbers of missing continued to rise this week as more families of migrant workers reported the disappearance of their loved ones.
According to Hui, the earthquake whose epicentre was in mountainous Wenchuan county left 374,171 injured, Xinhua said.
The government has previously reported that up to five million were left homeless and up to 14 million displaced by the earthquake, the biggest to hit China in more than 30 years. -- AFP
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