The Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (BOCOG) on Tuesday expressed condolences to the earthquake victims in Sichuan and said the Games would not be affected by the natural disaster.

Li Zhanjun, director of Beijing Olympic Media Center, said they felt "very sad" for the victims in a recent earthquake in Sichuan Province in middlewest China.

"The BOCOG grieves for the people who suffered in the earthquake," said Li on the sideline of the Getting to Know session, which sees a department head of the BOCOG brief the reporters on preparation for the Games on each Tuesday.

Monday's quake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale jolted Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province in southwest China at 2:28 p.m. on May 12, resulting in nearly 10,000 deaths reported so far.

Tremors were also reported in over half of China's provinces and municipalities, according to the China Seismological Bureau.

Despite of the damages, the earthquake will not affect the Games opening on August 8 in the Chinese capital, said Li.

"The earthquake, however, will not affect (preparation of) the Games," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 13, 2008)