China said Saturday at least 60,000 people have been killed in its worst earthquake in a generation and that the death toll could climb past 80,000.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon visited the ravaged epicentre of the earthquake in southwestern Sichuan province as international efforts picked up steam to help China shelter and care for millions of homeless.

China's Premier Wen Jiabao revealed the grim figures while escorting Ban through Yingxiu, a razed town in the epicentre of the massive quake, which flattened schools, homes and other builings on May 12.

Fatalities "may further climb to a level of 70,000, 80,000 or more," the premier told reporters.

The UN secretary-general arrived from neighbouring Myanmar, where one day earlier he persuaded the ruling military leaders to accept a major relief effort for survivors of the cyclone which struck there three weeks ago.

In China, Ban offered further UN assistance and praised China's response to the disaster, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

"The United Nations stands ready to provide further support, as required, to the government of China in its efforts to respond to the humanitarian needs caused by the disaster," Ban said earlier in a statement.

Unlike Myanmar, China has accepted international rescue teams and doctors, although it faced some criticism for waiting several days to make its decision.

China has been eager since the quake to ease tensions with other countries.

Protests targetting the upcoming Beijing Olympics flared earlier this year due to criticism of China's handling of demonstrations in Tibet.

The US Army has flown in three cargo planes laden with tonnes of life-saving supplies to southwestern Chengdu in the past week, according to US officials.

In one of the latest contributions, a 13-member French team that can provide medical care was due to fly in Saturday to the quake zone.

In a boost for the relief effort, China announced Saturday the main railway connecting Sichuan province's capital Chengdu with the central city of Baoji had reopened after nearly 300 hours.

The government has said it would take up to three years to reconstruct Sichuan, where one in five people in quake-hit areas has been made homeless.

An immediate danger is the risk of disease. Authorities say they urgently need more tents and more medication, particularly antibiotics, to prevent the outbreak of illnesses in the coming summer months.

An additional threat was dozens of "quake lakes," or reservoirs that have built up on rivers dammed by landslides that could burst and flood inhabited areas if no action is taken.

Jiao Yong, vice minister of water resources, said construction workers and police were being airlifted to affected areas to dig channels to divert some of the water, according to state media.

In the badly-hit Jiangyou area, more than 20,000 people were being evacuated due to the threat of flooding.

"We'll move them to higher places or out of the area at risk of flooding," said Tang Debin, deputy director of the Jiangyou water resources bureau, was quoted by the China Daily saying.

For many Chinese, feelings of horror over the quake turned to anger after they saw that thousands of schools had been destroyed, even though neighbouring structures remained standing.

The state-run Beijing News said some 9,000 teachers or schoolchildren were among the dead and missing from the quake, making up 12 percent of the total.

"We will investigate the construction quality of the schools and if we find that there are problems, we will severely deal with them," said Han Jin, a top education ministry official, as quoted by the Beijing News.

PHOTO CAPTION:

Chinese survivors search for their belongings amongst the rubble

AFP