Kyigudo earthquake death toll rises to 617 [Thursday, 15 April 2010, 1:32 p.m.]

Rescue workers pull out a person from a collapsed building in Yushul/Kyigudo in north eastern Tibet. Photo/AP

Dharamshala: According to the China’s state news agency Xinhua, the death toll in the violent earth quake in Kyigudo, north-eastern Tibet has risen to 617. About 9,110  are injured and  313 are estimated to be missing.  About 900 people have been pulled out alive though the death toll is further expected to rise. Relief workers are facing difficulty in reaching the quake hit region due to mountainous landscape,  freezing weather, high altitude and thin air. The reported landslides have caused road blocks which have hampered the rescue efforts. The Associated Press has reported further that the hospitals in Kyigudo are facing difficulties due to lack of medical facilities and doctors.The rescue works of the local people and the rescue teams have been made more difficult as 85 percent of the houses in the area, mostly made out of mud and wood, have collapsed and has turned the township into a huge rubble. Many countries, the Vatican and the UN Secretary-General have expressed their condolences to the victims of the earthquake. His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Kashag have expressed condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives and wished speedy relief for those injured and affected in the quake. The Staff of Central Tibetan Administration and also the Tibetans in Dharamsala held special prayer sessions in Dharamsala yesterday as well.