A HEARTBROKEN husband takes his wifes body to the morgue strapped tightly to his back on his moped.

He had to make the grim journey himself because no one else could help him amid the chaos and carnage caused by Chinas devastating earthquake.

The tragic scene in Sichuan province was repeated across the quake zone as authorities struggled to cope with its aftermath.

See the extent of the devastation in our slideshow, below.

Fears rose last night that the final death toll could top 50,000.

The official figure was put at 15,000 but more than 39,000 people were known to be buried or missing.

Thousands more will be at risk if the 391 dams damaged by the quake give way.

Swamped

Chinese troops were working round the clock in a bid to shore them up. If they fail, millions of gallons will roar through valleys filled with the tents and temporary shelters of the homeless. Authorities in the city of Dujiangyan warned it would be swamped.

But amid the terror and the tears, there were miracles.

A three-year-old girl named Song Xinyi was pulled out alive in the Beichuan region after being trapped for more than 40 hours under the bodies of her parents.

Eight months pregnant Zhang Xiaoyan, 34, was rescued UNINJURED from 18ft of rubble.

A British teacher living two miles from the quakes epicentre told how he and his wife escaped from their flat as neighbours screamed and buildings collapsed around them.

Philip Greening-Jackson, 51, of Nottingham, said: The apartment was lurching like a mad drunk. It was like rubber.