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China Says Qinghai Quake Death Toll Rises to 2,698

   VOA News 31 May 2010
   Chinese  military  searching through the rubble of collapsed buildings
   following  a  strong  earthquake  in Yushu County in northwest China's
   Qinghai province

Photo: AFP

   Frame  grab  taken  off  Chinese  state  CCTV  shows  Chinese military
   searching through the rubble of collapsed buildings following a strong
   earthquake  in  Yushu County in northwest China's Qinghai province, 14
   Apr 2010

   China says the death toll from an earthquake that hit a Tibetan region
   in the country's west last month has risen to 2,698.

   China's  official  Xinhua  news  agency says another 270 people remain
   missing after the April 14 quake in Qinghai province.

   The  new death toll is a significant increase from the previous figure
   of  around  2,200  fatalities  reported by Chinese authorities in late
   April.

   The  6.9  magnitude  quake  flattened  thousands of homes in Qinghai's
   ethnically-Tibetan  Yushu county. The remote location posed logistical
   difficulties  for  rescuers. Xinhua quotes Qinghai Vice Governor Zhang
   Guangrong as saying the dead include 199 students.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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