CHENGDU  -- Earthquake death toll in Sichuan Province alone has exceeded 19,500 by 4 pm Thursday, Vice Governor of Sichuan Li Chengyun said in Chengdu at a press conference.

The figure rose by more than 5,000 from Wednesday's 14,463. With dozens of deaths in neighbouring provinces, the overall toll has exceeded 20,000.

More than 72 hours after the earthquake rattled the area, the situation is getting urgent and grim to save the 25,788 people buried under the debris. Another 1405 people are still missing.

An aerial view of a town in the epicenter of Wenchuan County, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, after the deadly May 12 earthquake, in May 14, 2008.

While on another air inspection of the quake-hit distrcits on Wednesday, Premier Wen Jiabao ordered new reinforcements to the two hardly-battered counties, Wenchuan and Beichuan, as more than 100,000 PLA troops and police forces are searching and rescusing victims day and night.

 "We will try our best to send milk powder to parents and ensure children do not go hungry." Wen said on Tuesday after learning that some infants were running short of food and many people needed drinking water and tents.

"People are trapped in the debris; we must seize every second," he told an emergency meeting.

Rescuers were racing against time to find survivors after the strongest quake to hit China in 32 years jolted southwestern Sichuan province, demolishing buildings and trapping tens of thousands beneath the rubble.

Ordered by the General Staff of the PLA headquarters, up to 600 People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops entered Wenchuan county on foot, the epicenter, late Tuesday and pulled more than 1,000 people from debris, according to the disaster relief headquarters of the Chengdu Military Command. It was not clear how many had survived. The county city is estimated to have 110,000 permanent and migrant residents.

Earlier reports from Sichuan said only about 2,300 people of a town in the hardest hit county, named Yingxiu, out of a total population of 10,000, were known to have survived. Rescuers said the town was inaccessible by road.

The soldiers reported more than 70 percent of the roads in the town damaged, and almost all bridges had collapsed. Many people were believed to be under the debris.

Previous attempts by rescuers to reach the epicenter "by land, air and water" failed because of landslides, telecommunication breakdown and rain, an official with the Sichuan provincial relief headquarters said.

100,000 Soldiers Mobilized

By the end of Wednesday, May 14, a total of 100,000 PLA troops and armed police were sent to stricken Sichuan Province.

Also the first batch of 100 elite soldiers were parachuted on Wednesday afternoon to the previously cut-off Maoxian County, which is close to the epicenter. The parachutists landed safely at 12:20 pm.

Wang Zhenyao, director of the disaster relief department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, told a press conference on Tuesday that people trapped in collapsed buildings could survive for up to a week.

According to Wang, transportation hurdles and the huge number of victims were the two major difficulties facing rescue and relief workers.

Meanwhile, huge amounts of relief materials are required, Wang said, adding that up to 60,000 tents are needed in Mianyang alone, putting further pressure on transport.