As of 9:00?PM on Thursday, 2,309 domestic and overseas tourists were confirmed safe in the quake-hit regions after a devastating earthquake rocked southwestern China's Sichuan Province, official said?on Friday morning.

Among 5,167 tourists in the quake-hit regions, 832 are overseas tourists, Zhang Gu, director of Sichuan Tourism Bureau said.

"By now, 44 tourists have been confirmed dead and injured tourists have been hospitalized," Zhang said.

"We are trying our best to obtain information of those who lost contact with us due to disrupted communication," Zhang said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2008)