Quake death toll likely to cross 80,000

BEIJING, June 25 (UPI) -- The death toll from China's May 12 earthquake likely will exceed 80,000 as many of those listed as missing may have died, Vice Premier Hui Liangyu said.

Hui's report to the National People's Congress Standing Committee is the first time the government acknowledged many of those on the missing list could be dead, China Daily reported.

The official death toll from the quake which hit Sichuan province is 69,185 and those reported missing is 18,522. The government has said 374,171 people were injured.

Separately, Xinhua reported more than 6.5 million homes were destroyed and another 23 million homes were damaged by the quake.

Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren informed the Chinese Cabinet the government would allocate $10.14 billion this year for reconstruction in the quake-hit regions.

Hui said more funds would be allocated in the coming years as the losses are huge.

"We plan to spend three years to complete preliminary reconstruction and further develop the quake-hit regions in the following five years," he said.