Britons feared dead in China earthquake » Communities » 24dash.com

British people have been reported missing following the earthquake which struck China killing at least 10,000 people, the Foreign Office said today.

A spokesman confirmed that it is believed that British nationals were "possibly" in the area when the earthquake struck yesterday afternoon.

"We have been told through our embassy that there are British nationals possibly in the area. The embassy is now trying to contact people that have been reported missing," he said.

"Some of the people may be in groups or some may be individuals. The embassy is trying to make contact with them but communications are difficult at the moment.

"Our embassy is in close contact with the Chinese authorities."

He said he could not confirm a report from China's Xinhua News Agency that a group of 15 British tourists "were out of reach on Tuesday morning in Wenchuan", the epicentre of the earthquake.

The quake had a magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter Scale, making it the country's worst for 30 years, with most of the casualties in the Sichuan province.

The Foreign Office has now set up a telephone number for people to contact if they think their loved ones may have been involved in the disaster.

Xinhua quoted an official from the Sichuan provincial emergency management office as saying the tourists were probably in Wolong, a protection and breeding centre for pandas.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband pledged to help China deal with the devastation wrought by the earthquake.

Mr Miliband said: "The UK stands ready to assist."

He added it was "a further and tragic shock to a region already trying to handle the devastation in Burma".

"Emerging news of the loss of life and devastation in China is deeply saddening," he added.

"My thoughts are with the Chinese people and those families who have suffered loss. The Chinese government are to be commended for their quick and efficient response."

A Beijing-based charity worker earlier predicted that the death toll would rise.

Dale Rutstein of Unicef China said he had only been able to get limited reports from the epicentre of the disaster in Sichuan Province.

He said: "It is very difficult, almost impossible to get through on the phone but we have had brief, sketchy, conversations with local press reporters who have backed up the main picture.

"I would expect the death toll to rise as Sichuan is one of the most populated provinces and one of the poorest.

"There are a lot of people living in marginal areas that are difficult to get to and a lot of the buildings in those areas are sub-standard and could collapse very quickly."

Mr Rutstein added that the death toll in the province's capital city, Chengdu, could be kept down by the construction boom it is currently experiencing.

He said: "Chengdu is 57 miles from the epicentre and we are 930 miles away in Beijing and we felt it.

"There are 10 million people there but the amount of construction means there is a lot of new buildings which will be built to a better standard so they may survive.

"I would imagine the outlying areas would be hit worse."

Save the Children's Wyndham James is also in the Chinese capital and said the timing of the earthquake could increase the death toll.

He said: "The earthquake was about 2.30pm and is a time when most children are in school.

"There are also other institutions like orphanages and hospitals that could be affected.

"The latest figure Chinese television is giving was 7,651 dead which was a terrifically precise number.

"I would imagine the Chinese authorities would put out a conservative estimate because they would want to say what they know and not guess at anything.

"The death toll will undoubtedly climb."

The earthquake was felt as far away as Vietnam.

The telephone number to check on people who may be affected by the earthquake is 0086 105 192 4499.