China Qinghai quake death toll rises to 589

YUSHU, Qinghai, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of China's Qinghai 7.1-magnitude earthquake rose to 589 as of 1:20 a.m. Thursday, according to the local quake-relief headquarters.

Rescuers work on the debris of a local vocational school after a quake in  Yushu County, northwest China's Qinghai Province, April 14, 2010. About 589 people have died after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Yushu early on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

The headquarters have dispatched relief work groups respectively in charge of rescue, quake survivors' daily life, detecting aftershocks and health and disease control.

Jia Yingzhong, Party secretary of the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture called for all local cadres to make all-out effort in rescue and relief work. Those who fail to do the job will be sacked immediately, he said.