Death Toll Soars to 617 from China Quake

The death toll from Wednesday’s earthquake in China’s Yushu County soared to 617 on Thursday.

[Badi, Local Volunteer]:
„What’s worst is that so many people have died, a lot of people’s relatives and family members have been affected. Now 80 to 90 percent of people do not have a place to live.“

More than 300 people are listed as missing.

Many local residents, including Tibetan Buddhist monks, volunteered to help with the rescue efforts.

Many people have come to the town from outlying villages in search of aid.

[Zhao Chenling, Quake Survivor]:
„It feels horrible to see everyone in this situation and I am so scared of another earthquake, that we have come here to sleep, just in case.“

A local sports stadium has become a medical post as first aid tents were filled with injured people. Nearly 10,000 people have been injured, almost 1,000 of them severely.

For many Chinese, images from Yushu recall the devastating May 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province, which killed at least 80,000 people.

Foto: NTDTV