It was a day of mourning across China on Wednesday, a week after the 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck Yushu County in Qinghai Province.

According to official reports, so far 2,064 people have died in the quake. But Tibetan Lamas and rescue workers at the site of the disaster are disputing that figure. 

Hong Kong’s Mingpao newspaper interviewed a senior Tibetan Lama responsible for funeral and praying ceremonies for the dead. Lama Angwen Danba Renqing said that his monastery cremated more than 3,400 bodies as of last Sunday. 

A rescue worker surnamed Luo told NTD the number of bodies at a mass cremation on Sunday was higher than officially reported.

[Mr. Luo, Rescue Worker in Jiegu Town]:

“What we saw was definitely more than two to three thousand. Most of the bodies were cremated in a couple of days.”

Western media, including the New York Times and the Daily Telegraph, have also reported on the Chinese regime probably downplaying the death toll. 

Many believe the final toll could reach beyond 10,000. 

A spokesperson for the Chinese regime said on Tuesday the death toll is not being covered up, according to state-run Xinhua news. 

Meanwhile survivors left homeless by the quake continue to struggle under wintery conditions and an unseasonal sandstorm. Although tents, food and other aid supplies have arrived at the quake zone, not all of it is reaching the victims. 

[Earthquake Victim, Jeigu Town]:

“It is very cold, there’s nowhere to live and nothing to eat. The people have received very little, and we don’t know how to survive.”

The Tibetan man told NTD much of the aid materials are in the control of local government officials.