Earthquake Measuring 7.8 Leaves 8,533 Dead In Sichuan Alone The death toll in Monday's earthquake that devastated parts of southwest China's Sichuan province appeared heading towards a massive figure that might surpass 20,000 people. Till late evening on Monday, official sources confirmed 8,533 deaths in Sichuan alone, but indicated that the situation was so grim that a lot more people may have lost lives. The most significant revelation came from the local government in the worst-affected Wenchuan County, which said that 80% of the buildings in the county had been destroyed. Wenchuan has a population of 1,11,800. At least 900 children are feared trapped under a collapsed school building in Dujiangyan County, which is next to Wenchuan. Details of their fate were still awaited. Dujiangyan, which has a population of 600,000, is believed to be badly affected but there has been very little information about the fate of its residents till evening. Government agencies involved in relief operations said it was difficult to rush relief to the affected areas and helicopters have been pressed into service. This indicated that road communications have been badly affected. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the southwest Sichuan province at 2.28pm this afternoon and it was followed by several aftershocks till 5pm. Tremors were also felt in the major cities of Beijing and Shanghai resulting in thousands of people rushing out of their houses and office buildings. Deaths have also been reported from the neighbouring provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu, Chongqing, and Yunnan, where more than 100 people have died. Reports suggested that the quake has spared the major city of Chengdu, which is 146 kilometres away and caused no damage to the world's biggest dam, the Three Gorges Dam, which is several hundred kilometres away. An executive engineer at the government agency managing the dam said there has been no damage due to the earthquake. Wenchuan, which lies in the southeast part of the Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Aba, is home to the Wolong Nature Reserve, China's leading research and breeding base for endangered giant pandas. Another tremor measuring 3.9 jolted Tongzhou district in east Beijing minutes after the quake in Sichuan. But there was no report of any serious injuries due to this earthquake. Chinese premier Wen Jiabao, who rushed to the quake region late evening, described the situation as a "very severe earthquake disaster'. President Hu Jiantao ordered an "all out' effort to aid people in the earthquake region. "I felt dizzy and wondered if my blood pressure level had suddenly shot up. Then I heard shouts and people began heading for the stairs,' a retired government official told TOI in Beijing. Hundreds of people were buried in two collapsed chemical plants due to the earthquake, the online edition of the official Xinhua news agency said. About 6,000 people were evacuated, Xinhua said, adding that more than 80 tonnes of liquid ammonia were leaked. The factories are located in Shifeng, about 50 kilometres from the epicentre of the quake in Sichuan province, Xinhua said, citing an official from the State Administration of Work Safety. Xinhua said its reporters saw buried teenagers struggling to break loose from underneath the rubble of the three-story building in Juyuan "while others were crying out for help'. Two girls were quoted by the agency as saying they escaped because they had "run faster than others'. WHEN THE GROUND SHOOK... A powerful earthquake has killed around 9,000 people in one county alone in Sichuan province, south-western China. Thousands are feared killed and injured across other areas after the quake, which had a magnitude of 7.8, struck at 2.28pm local time AFTERSHOCKS 80% buildings in 1 county destroyed 8,533 deaths in Sichuan alone 2 chemical plants collapsed leaving hundreds trapped under debris 5 schools collapsed. 50 dead, 900 children trapped in 1 school alone EPICENTRE: Wenchuan county