China Declares Day of Mourning for Quake Victims
Emergency workers, Tibetan monks continue relief effort after last week＇s powerful tremor kills more than 2,000 people in country＇s northwest.
A Tibetan family walks past a collapsed house following a massive earthquake in Yushu prefecture, northwest China＇s Qinghai Province, 18 Apr 2010
China has set Wednesday as a national day of mourning, a week after a powerful earthquake killed more than 2,000 people in a Tibetan region in the country＇s northwest.
China＇s State Council, or Cabinet, said Tuesday all flags in China and in embassies and consulates around the world would be flown at half-staff to mark the 6.9 magnitude quake that hit the remote Yushu prefecture.
China＇s official Xinhua news agency announced Tuesday the toll from the April 14 quake has risen to 2,039 people dead and 195 missing. The quake also injured more than 12,000 people and left tens of thousands homeless.
Relief supplies continue to arrive in the high-altitude, ethnic Tibetan area known as "the roof of the world."
Emergency workers rescued three people Monday, including a 68-year-old woman and a four-year-old girl pulled from under the rubble of a collapsed building in the town of Jiegu.
Tibetan monks continue to take a lead role in the relief effort, helping to clear debris and distribute food.
Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Yushu in Qinghai Province Sunday to inspect the recovery efforts. The president said the Chinese government is doing everything it can to help people in the remote, ethnic Tibetan region.
Tibet＇s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has appealed to the Chinese government to allow him to visit the quake site, but Beijing has not responded.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
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