China has announced a national day of mourning for the victims of last week's earthquake in Yushu, as the death toll from the disaster rose to above 2,000
Malcolm Moore in Shanghai
Flags will fly at half mast on Wednesday across China and at its overseas embassies, marking one week since the disaster struck. All public entertainment, including live sports and entertainment programmes on national television and internet games will be suspended for 24 hours.
Three minutes of silence will be observed in Qinghai province, where the 7.1 magnitude earthquake occurred.
The official death toll in Yushu county, which lies at 13,000 feet above sea level on the Tibetan plateau and at least 12 hours from the nearest major airport, climbed to 2,046 on Tuesday, with more than 12,000 people hurt and nearly 200 still missing, according to official reports.
Snow and ice on the main road into the region has caused delays for air convoys as some lorries got stuck on the mountain passes. At a supply depot on the edge of town, stacks of aid were piling up inside a warehouse.
Meanwhile, reports emerged that one teacher managed to save all 830 of his students after he reacted quickly to an early-morning tremor that preceded the main earthquake. More than 100 school children were killed as other schools in the region collapsed, but Yanli Duode said he had evacuated the building after sensing danger.
An ominous feeling "made me uncomfortable but I couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was," said the deputy head of the Number One Minorities Middle School in Yushu. He said he rose from bed and ran to the student dormitories with four other teachers, ordering the children to leave the buildings.
Daily Telegraph
