11 schools destroyed at China quake's epicentre

Dozens of pupils remained missing under the rubble after Wednesday's quake in Qinghai province. Eleven schools collapsed, killing at least 66 students and 10 teachers in Yushu prefecture.

Beijing (dpa) April 15, 2010 -- Eleven schools collapsed, killing at least 66 students and 10 teachers in Yushu prefecture, where this week's earthquake that hit north-western China was centered, according to preliminary government statistics released Thursday.

Dozens of pupils remained missing under the rubble after Wednesday's quake in Qinghai province, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing officials.

Worried and bereaved parents stood at the remains of the destroyed Yushu vocational school, where 22 deaths had been confirmed. At least 43 children were also killed at two primary schools in the prefecture.

The school collapses harkened back to the May 2008 quake in southern China's Sichuan province, in which poorly constructed schools crumbled, killing thousands of children.

Although officials tried to suppress criticism that corruption and cronyism had resulted in the poor quality of the schools' construction and had made them earthquake-prone, they could not prevent a scandal from erupting and protests by the parents of the dead, most of whom had lost their only child.

Wednesday's quake, which the US Geological Survey recorded at 6.9 on the Richter scale and the China Earthquake Administration measured at 7.1, left 617 dead, 9,110 injured and 313 missing.

Copyright: dpa