UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited the Chilean city of Concepcion on Saturday, one week after a massive 8.8- magnitude earthquake shook the South American nation, dpa reported.
The country's residents turned to a 24-hour fundraising telethon called Chile Helping Chile that continued Saturday with the hopes of raising at least 27 million dollars. The broadcast was to feature national popstars and interviews with victims and aid workers.
Chile updated the official death toll to 452 victims Friday from the February 27 quake that struck near Concepcion, country's second- largest city.
Rescue workers there ended after seven days a search for survivors in a 14-storey apartment building that collapsed in the quake. The building was to be torn down even as teams were unable to find the last resident believed to have been inside when it collapsed.
On Thursday, the government had released an initial death toll of 279, revising the counting method that had resulted in a much higher previous figure of 803 fatalities.
Deputy Interior Minister Patricio Rosende explained that the government had revised its method and now insists on including only the victims that have been fully identified.
"Those who have died were people, not numbers, and until we are completely certain of the identities of the victims of this catastrophe, we will restrict the information to those whom we have been able to identify," Rosende said.
The official list includes complete names and addresses, in order to dispel any doubts and avoid confusion with people still missing whose fate is not yet known, he said.
The final death toll is expected to rise as more bodies are found and victims identified.
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