The World - News from Dec. 29, 1988

Soviet authorities have recovered more than 24,000 bodies from the rubble of homes and buildings destroyed by the earthquake that rocked Armenia on Dec. 7, a special disaster panel announced. The panel, headed by Soviet Premier Nikolai I. Ryzhkov, told members of the ruling Politburo that a total of 24,390 bodies have been recovered by searchers. Another 427 people were discovered alive but later died in hospitals, the official Tass news agency announced. The Soviets previously reported the recovery of 23,700 bodies. Although authorities have continued to recover bodies in the region, the official death toll of 55,000 has not been changed since the Foreign Ministry released it six days after the quake.