This bulletin is being issued for information only, and reflects the current situation and details available at this time.
Summary: The death toll has climbed up to 1,706 with reportedly 256 still missing. Rescuers continue to search for survivors 72 hours after the deadly earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Ritcher scale hit China's Qinghai province on 14 April 2010. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), this is the strongest quake to have hit the remote mountainous area since 1976. Additional rescue and relief support have reached the quake-hit area, with major roads including the road from the worst-hit Gyegu town to the only airport in Yushu prefecture cleared at time of reporting. Approximately 200 rescuers were forced to leave the quake zone after showing signs of altitude sickness.
The situation
An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale hit northwest China's Qinghai province at 07:49 local time on 14 April 2010 (23:49 GMT on 13 April 2010). Its epicentre is calculated to be 33.2 north and 96.6 east (revised official data on 17 April 2010), which is about 50km away from the Gyegu town (previous translated as Jiegu township), the government headquarters of the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu, and about 800km away from Xining, the Qinghai provincial capital. Qinghai is located on the northeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau. Some 1,150 aftershocks have been recorded as of 18 April 2010 with the largest one registering a magnitude of 6.3, about an hour and 36 minutes after the earthquake.