Special report: Strong Earthquake Jolts SW China

    BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- As of midnight Thursday, 122 aftershocks measuring above 4 on the Richter scale had been monitored in Wenchuan County, the quake epicenter in southwestern Sichuan Province, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center on Friday.

    The biggest aftershock reported so far has been a magnitude-6.1 quake.

    A devastating earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale rocked southwest China. As of 4 p.m. on Thursday, the confirmed death toll in Sichuan alone was 19,509 and more than 50,000 people were estimated dead.