Death toll from Chinese quake at 22,069

BEIJING, May 16 (UPI) -- The official death toll from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck China this week has reached 22,069 people, authorities said Friday.

State Council emergency response office officials said 21,577 of those killed in Monday's quake were in the Sichuan Province, which saw its official death toll increase by nearly 2,000 from earlier totals, China's official state-run Xinhua news agency said.

The remaining casualties all occurred in neighboring regions such as the Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, the emergency officials said.

Friday's increase in casualties came one day after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the final death toll from the natural disaster could ultimately be more than 50,000 people.

Xinhua said Wen has been in quake-hit areas since the disaster initially occurred, expressing hope for survivors.

"We won't give up if there is even the slightest hope of finding more survivors," Wen said of ongoing rescue efforts.