19 Britons missing after earthquake

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There has been no news on the whereabouts of at least 19 British holidaymakers who were travelling in the worst-hit region of the country.

The 19 were clients of Travel Collection, which is part of holiday company Kuoni, and were in Wenchuan county on a coach trip when the 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck on Monday.

While Kuoni and the Foreign Office sought news of the group, UK travel organisation Abta was able to say that at least 100 UK tourists travelling in the earthquake region of Sichuan province were safe and unhurt.

More than 20 of them were clients of London-based holiday company CTS Horizons. These tourists were due to travel on to Xi'an in China by plane.

Chinese officials said at least 12,000 people had been killed in the earthquake. These included five children who died when their primary school was destroyed in Chongqing City.

The 19 Kuoni tourists were travelling on Monday by coach from Chengdu to Wolong in Wenchuan county in the Sichuan province with a local guide and driver.

Kuoni went on: "All lines of communication to the region are down and as such no further information is known at this time. We are working closely with the British Consulate in China."

Abta said that information from its holiday company members so far contacted showed that these tour firms have around 100 clients in Sichuan region - many of them visiting giant panda areas.

The Foreign Office has set up a new telephone number - 020 7008 0000 - for relatives having difficulty contacting loved ones in China.