Toll from China quake estimated at 3,000 to 5,000

The official Xinhua News Agency said Monday that another 10,000 people were believed hurt in Beichuan county after the 7.8-magnitude quake.

Nearly 900 students were trapped after their school collapsed about 60 miles from the epicenter. Photos showed heavy cranes trying to remove rubble from the ruined school.

The earthquake struck in the middle of the afternoon when classes and office towers were full.

The temblor was felt as far away as Pakistan, Vietnam and Thailand.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BEIJING (AP) -A powerful earthquake struck central China on Monday, trapping nearly 900 students after their school collapsed and leaving at least 107 people dead across several provinces, state media reported.

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit central China, but sent thousands of people rushing out of buildings and into the streets hundreds of miles away in Beijing and Shanghai. The temblor was felt as far away as Pakistan, Vietnam and Thailand.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported that four of the dead were ninth-grade students killed when their high school collapsed. Photos showed heavy cranes trying to remove rubble from the ruined school. Xinhua did not say how many of the students were feared dead.

It said its reporters in Juyuan township, about 60 miles from the epicenter, saw buried teenagers struggling to break loose from underneath the rubble of the three-story building "while others were crying out for help."