[A mother cries over the body of her daughter at the collapsed Xiang'e Middle School at the earthquake site in Dujiangyan of southwest China's Sichuan province.] China began airlifting aid to the areas worst hit by a massive earthquake Wednesday, while state media reported several thousand deaths near the epicenter that accounted for 80 percent of one town's population. The new figures appeared certain to push the death toll well beyond the reported 12,000. The official Xinhua News Agency said 7,700 people died in Yingxiu town, near the epicenter of Monday's 7.9 magnitude earthquake. It was unclear if the new figure was in addition to the previously reported death toll of more than 12,000. If the deaths from Yingxiu have not already been folded in, the toll could be as high as 20,000. WSWS: Death toll, economic consequences mount from China earthquake.