The death toll from the May 12 earthquake has exceeded 28,300 in Sichuan province alone, and more than 10,600 others remained buried, the Sichuan provincial government said on Saturday afternoon.

More than 188,100 people had been injured, said Li Chengyun, Vice Governor of Sichuan, quoting figures calculated by 4:00 PM.

Nationwide, the tremor death toll rose to 28,881 as of 2:00 PM on Saturday, while 198,347 people were injured, according to the Information Office of the State Council.

A total of 15.61 million houses in quake areas were damaged, with 3.13 million collapsed, it said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2008)