The death toll has climbed to 3,000 in the quake-hit Shifang City in southwest China's Sichuan Province, up from the previous figure of 2,500, local authorities said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, more than 30,000 people were injured, 2,591 missing and 1,838 buried in the rubble, according to a government statement.

Shifang, a city of 430,000 people, came under focus when the earthquake destroyed two chemical plants in the Yinghua town and caused the leakage of 80 tons of ammonia, forcing more than 6,000 people to evacuate.

But local officials said that the leak has been capped, and it has caused no death.

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Wenchuan County of Sichuan Monday afternoon.

More than 50,000 people are feared dead in Sichuan alone, the rescue headquarters of the State Council said Thursday.

The confirmed death toll in Sichuan was 19,509 by 4:00 PM on Thursday, up by 5,046 from Wednesday's 14,463.

Another 102,103 people were injured and 12,323 buried in the rubble.

The tremors were also felt in most parts of the country.

In regions neighboring Sichuan, 280 were killed in Gansu Province, 106 in Shaanxi Province, 14 in Chongqing Municipality, two in Henan Province, one in Yunnan Province and one in Hubei Province.

It was the worst earthquake to strike China since the Tangshan earthquake in northern Hebei Province in 1976, which claimed 242,000 lives.

(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2008)