BEIJING -- The death toll in China's Sichuan province from the devastating earthquake has exceeded 19,500, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday, citing local authorities.

The confirmed death toll is a jump of about 5,000 since Wednesday, when authorities gave a toll of 14,463 dead for the province.

Tens of thousands more people are believed to be missing or buried under the rubble from Monday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake, with Sichuan suffering the vast bulk of the devastation.