Beijing, Friday 21 November 2008: China acknowledged Friday for the first time that more than 19,000 schoolchildren were among the dead in the massive earthquake that struck Sichuan province in May.

The earthquake left nearly 90,000 people dead or missing, but the government has never before said how many of the casualties were students. Most of them perished when their shoddily built schools collapsed.

Their deaths become a sensitive political issue for the government, with parents of dead children staging protests demanding investigations. Many parents say they have been subjected to intimidation and financial inducements to keep them silent.

The student death toll of 19,065 was presented by Wei Hong, the executive vice governor of Sichuan, at a news conference on preparations for the winter in the quake zone.