China held a national moment of silence on Monday to mark the one-week anniversary of the massive earthquake that may have killed more than 71,000 people. According to government reports, more than 34,000 people already have been confirmed dead while estimates of the total number of casualties have been continually revised upward. The three-minute moment of silence marked the beginning of a three-day period of mourning.

BBC:

More than 71,000 people are dead, buried or missing following Monday’s 7.9 magnitude quake, state media say. More than 220,000 people were injured.

And as aid efforts continued, the media said mudslides had buried 200 relief workers in the last three days.

A local official said there had been some fatalities, but the numbers of dead and injured were not known.

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