Brits missing in earthquake

lil eva · Brits missing in earthquake

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

A spokesman confirmed that it is believed British nationals were "possibly" in the area when the earthquake struck on Monday 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. The telephone number to check on people who may be affected by the earthquake is 0086 105 192 4499.

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."

What will happen to the Olympics,has anyone heard if they will be effected????

will_lufc

my mates mum at work is over there

and he couldnt get hold of her yesterday ffs and still not heard anything either

lil eva

Lets hope that she is alright.

will_lufc

thank god he text me today hes spoken to his mother and everything ok

Chrissy Canadian

yes thank god for that. it's so horrible how fast those things happen and thousands of people die.

fate can be so cruel... just yesterday, there was a terrible accident in a small town in b.c. a young african exchange student, about 20 years old, was just walking down the street and a helicopter crashed down on him, killing all 3 people in the helicopter and him. it said, he was on the way to the post office to mail a letter to his family back home and it happened so fast he didn't see it coming. just think, 2 minutes earlier and he would still be alive

not to mention those poor people in the helicopter who were there as part of their job

will_lufc

its mad init

lil eva

Glad your mates mum is ok Paul

will_lufc

thank you