Beijing authorities last night more than doubled the official death toll from last weekend's devastating storm in the capital to 77, following days of mounting public calls for a more accurate count of those killed.
The belated update was the first since Sunday, when it was said 37 had been killed.
However, the government maintained its strict censorship of media reports about the capital's worst deluge in decades, going as far as to invite Beijing-based reporters on Wednesday to 'have tea' with the city's propaganda chief until past midnight - a euphemism for a lecture from officials. Additionally, eight pages of reports on the storm in a leading liberal weekly were pulled at the last minute.
City officials updated the death toll at a press conference last night, saying that at least 77 bodies were found in Beijing, and 61 civilians had been identified among the victims - 36 male and 25 female, including an eight-month-old baby. Five officials were among the dead.
Most of the bodies were found on the outskirts of the capital, particularly in the heavily hit Fangshan district, where 38 deaths were reported. Seven people also died in the Chaoyang and Dongcheng districts in the city centre.
Additionally, Baoding city in neighbouring Hebei province announced that it had recorded 26 deaths from the storm, with 20 people still missing, as of last night.
While some people mourned the dead, others voiced disbelief.