Death toll climbs to 1,144 in Yushu quake zone

The death toll in the Yushu earthquake climbed to 1,144 as of 5 p.m. Friday, about two and a half days after the devastating quake shook a Tibetan inhabited area in northwest China's Qinghai Province. 417 people remain missing,and 11,744 people have been injured.

That includes nearly 12-hundred serious cases. According to the emergency rescue headquarters, the death toll rose greatly on Friday because the expanding rescue forces recovered more bodies from the rubble.

In addition,the missing list climbed as the transient population in the business town were counted for the first time.

By 5 p.m, Friday,a total of 1,179 serious cases had been transported to hospitals in the area.