A total of 62,161 people have been confirmed dead in the May 12 earthquake and another 347,401 people injured in southwest China's Sichuan Province alone as of 4:30 PM on Sunday, a local official said.

The province has recorded about 8,000 aftershocks after the 8.0-magnitude earthquake on May 12, with the strongest measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale reported on Sunday afternoon.

The latest aftershock jolted Qingchuan County at about 4:21 PM. It was also felt in the provincial capital Chengdu, neighboring Shaanxi Province and even Beijing.

The China National Seismic Network has located the epicenter of the aftershock at 32.6 degrees north latitude and 105.4 degrees east longitude.

In terms of the intensity and scope of destruction, the May 12 quake centered in Wenchuan County is believed to have surpassed the 7.8-magnitude quake in 1976 in Tangshan, northern Hebei Province, which claimed more than 240,000 lives.

A total of 62,664 people have perished in the tremors as of Sunday noon. Another 358,816 were injured and 23,775 remained missing, according to the Information Office of State Council, China's cabinet.

(Xinhua News Agency May 25, 2008)