Chinese authorities have rushed funeral workers from elsewhere to quake-hit Sichuan province to cope with thousands of dead bodies.

The Chongqing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau has mobilized 60 workers from funeral parlors in the city to help cremate victims' bodies in neighboring Sichuan, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said here on Friday.

The most devastating earthquake in the history of the people's republic hit Sichuan on Monday. Confirmed deaths have risen to 19,509, while the final death toll could hit 50,000, the government said.

Vice health minister Gao Qiang said the bodies of the dead would be handled properly as soon as possible to prevent a possible outbreak of epidemics.

(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2008)