WORLD NEWS

BEIJING: The number of people killed from an earthquake in western China has passed 1,400 - as nearly 10,000 rescue workers searched through rubble for survivors.
China's news agency reported 1,484 bodies had been recovered since the 6.9-magnitude tremor struck on Wednesday.

The quake toppled homes and buildings along China's remote Tibetan Plateau.

Hundreds of people are still missing following the tremor that hit Yushu county, in Qinghai province, on what is known as "The Roof of the World".

But a few people are still being found alive.

A 13-year-old girl was pulled from a collapsed hotel after a sniffer dog alerted rescuers.

A 43-year-old woman was also dug out of rubble having endured more than 50 hours with no food or water.

Tibetan monks, dressed in crimson robes, have been working alongside government rescue teams.

Earlier, they lifted hundreds of bodies onto trucks and vans to take them for cremation in foothills outside a town.

"We must have a funeral for them in three days, that's our tradition," said Laojiang, a Tibetan monk.

His hands were covered in bloody bandages from digging through rubble while searching for survivors.

Traditionally, Tibetans perform "sky burials" to mark the passing of loved ones. The body is chopped into pieces and left on a platform to be devoured by vultures.

But one of the monks said that would be impossible now. Genqui, who like many Tibetans goes by one name, said: "The vultures can't eat them all."

Moved by the disaster in the overwhelmingly Tibetan area, the Dalai Lama said he would like to visit the site.

The Tibetan spiritual leader fled Tibet after a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule and has never returned.

"To fulfil the wishes of many of the people there, I am eager to go there myself to offer them comfort," the Dalai Lama said from the Indian hill town that is home to the Tibetan government-in-exile.

There was no immediate comment from China's government. It has accused the Dalai Lama of fomenting separatism in Tibetan areas, making it very unlikely that he would be allowed to visit.

Meanwhile, many survivors of the quake still waiting for help.

Vital convoys carrying tents, quilts and other cold weather clothing have been delayed by landslides and damaged bridges on the 1,000km route from provincial capital Xining.

On Friday, China's Premier Wen Jiabao visited workers involved in the rescue operation.

He told survivors: "The disaster you have suffered is our disaster. Your suffering is our suffering."