By Phurbu Thinley
Dharamsala, May 31: Chinese authorities Monday said that the “final death toll” from a devastating earthquake that struck a remote Northeastern Tibetan region of Kyegudo six weeks ago has risen to 2,698.
The revised figure is a jump from the previously reported toll, which stood at a little over 2,200 in late April, with 12,000 injured.
Another 270 people remained missing after the April 14 earthquake that flattened tens of thousands of houses in Yushu county, China state news agency Xinhua cited Qinghai Vice Governor Zhang Guangrong as telling reporters.
Among the victims, 2,687 had been identified and the identities of 11 bodies remained unknown, Zhang told a press conference.
The communist official said those killed include 199 students and a Hong Kong resident.
Unconfirmed sources from the quake-hit area, however, contend that many times the official figures had died in the devastating earthquake.
While the US Geological Survey (USGS) said it was an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, Xinhua said it was 7.1-magnitude earthquake.
On Saturday, another earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale hit the same region. Chinese state media, however, said it was a 5.7-magnitude aftershock with no immediate reports of any injuries or damage caused.
China last month said it would take up to three years to rebuild the earthquake-devastated region, saying the area’s remote location posed logistical difficulties.
The communist government has capitalized on the full-scale relief operation to show it cares about Tibetan communities, some of which staged large protests against Chinese rule in 2008.
Tibetan exiles, led by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the exile Tibetan government, have raised funds for the quake relief efforts and have organised weekly prayers for the victims and survivors of the deadly earthquake.
Tibetan exiles On Tuesday will conduct their next weekly prayer service to mark the seventh week or the 49th day of the death of victims of the earthquake.
Weekly prayers for seven consecutive weeks after the death of a person holds special religious significance in Tibetan Buddhist custom.
