BEIJING, Aug 23 (Reuters) - The majority of young children orphaned in Sichuan province by the devastating earthquake that struck in May have found homes with relatives, leaving only 88 to be put up for adoption, state media said on Saturday.

Tens of thousands of Chinese families offered to take in the orphans after the disaster, which killed at least 70,000 people. Provincial officials at one point estimated that as many as 2,000 children had been orphaned.

But the official Xinhua news agency quoted Chen Kefu, deputy head of the Civil Affairs Department of Sichuan province, as saying that in the event only 532 children were orphaned.

Of the 240 under the age of 14 -- the cut-off age for adoptions -- only 88 did not have a home with other relatives, Chen said.

Only Chinese couples with no children of their own who are both over the age of 30 are eligible, Xinhua said. (Reporting by Jason Subler; editing by Robert Hart)

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