Of 138,960 commercial outlets damaged by the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, 120,241, or nearly 90 percent, are back in operation, the State Council Information Office said on Wednesday.

Losses incurred by the commercial sectors in the three provinces stood at 26.78 billion yuan US$3.8 billion), according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The death toll from the 8.0-magnitude earthquake stood at 69,185 as of Wednesday noon, the information office said.

The number of the injured remained at 374,171, and 18,458 people were still officially classified as missing, although the government said on Tuesday that it was likely many of them had died in the May 12 disaster.

(Xinhua News Agency June 26, 2008)