Official figures from the Chinese government today put the death toll at nearly 15,000 with 26,000 still buried in rubble and 14,000 missing.

Efforts to contact the missing Britons are continuing as rescuers renew their searches near the epicentre of the quake, which reached 7.9 magnitude, China's deadliest in more than 30 years.

The 19 were clients of Travel Collection, which is part of holiday company Kuoni, and were in Wenchuan county on a coach trip when the earthquake struck.

China began airlifting aid to the areas worst hit today, after poor weather hampered rescue efforts yesterday and overnight.

As the weather cleared, a fleet of military helicopters was seen flying north over Dujiangyan. Xinhua reported two army helicopters air-dropped food, drinking water and medicine to Yingxiu, with three more en route.

Rescuers raced to save people trapped under flattened buildings.

A 34-year-old woman who was eight months pregnant was rescued after spending 50 hours under debris in Dujiangyan.

In the Beichuan region, a three-year-old girl who was trapped for more than 40 hours under the bodies of her parents was pulled to safety, Xinhua said.

Rescuers found Song Xinyi yesterday, but were unable to extricate her immediately due to fears the debris above her would collapse. She was fed and shielded from the rain until she could be freed from the rubble.

A team of British experts from the International Rescue Corps (IRC) are due to arrive in Hong Kong today before being taken by helicopter to an as-yet undecided location to help in the search for survivors.

The team includes rescuers from Scotland, Cumbria, East Yorkshire, Merseyside and Norfolk. Spokeswoman Julie Ryan said they expected to stay in the region for five to seven days after visas were arranged and precise details of the mission finalised in Hong Kong.

Oxfam said its Hong Kong office has allocated 1.55 million US dollars, or around £780,000, for emergency relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction work.

The British Red Cross said it had released £25,000 from its disaster fund for the aid operation.

International SOS, which has headquarters in Singapore and London, said it would be supporting the Beijing Red Cross Society in rescue efforts.

A Tesco spokeswoman said the company was donating around £150,000 in Chinese currency to local government agencies working on relief efforts.

Players and staff at the Chengdu Blades, the Chinese football club owned by Sheffield United, have given blood in an effort to bring aid to victims.

The Foreign Office emergency contact number for people attempting to trace friends or family in the affected region is 0207 700 8000.