DW-World.de
Deutsche Welle

Specialist teams from Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan have arrived in China's Sichuan province to assist in the rescue and recovery effort following Monday's devastating earthquake. Officials now say that the 7.9-magnitude quake has left nearly five million survivors homeless. The confirmed death toll stands at 22,000 with tens of thousands more still missing. President Hu Jintao, who is in the region, has urged rescue workers to work as quickly as possible to save more lives. Among several survivors to be pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building in the past 24 hours was a German tourist. Many of the victims have been children whose schools collapsed in the quake. The European Union has pledged initial aid of two million euros. It has already sent a special assessment team to Sichuan.