Dazed survivors of China quake spend chilly night in the open

April 15, 2010 -- Updated 0225 GMT (1025 HKT)



* Survivors in Jiegu, China, spend night in freezing temperatures with little shelter
* 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit impoverished, mountainous area Wednesday morning
* More than 580 dead, 10,000 others injured, state-run media says
* Boarding schools fell on students as they prepared for the day, Xinhua reports

(CNN) -- As dawn broke Thursday in earthquake-ravaged Jiegu, China, some people walked the streets in shock as others continued their all-night efforts to scour debris with their hands for survivors.

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit near the town in an impoverished area of Qinghai province the morning before, killing more than 580 people and injuring at least 10,000 others, according to state-run media.

"Civilians are scouring over the debris, looking for survivors, looking for whatever else they can find in rubble," CNN's John Vause reported from Jiegu, a town of 100,000 people. "It seems that most people here still seem very dazed by what happened. They seem to be walking up and down the streets, looking at the damage and the destruction."

The quake in the mountainous region had flattened homes -- many of which were made with wood and earth -- and other buildings in Jiegu and elsewhere in Yushu prefecture, a Tibetan region of Qinghai.

Many survivors spent Wednesday night in open areas in freezing or near-freezing temperatures.

Almost 1,000 people sat or lay on the ground outside a government sports building in Jiegu, some wrapping themselves with quilts they had taken from rubble, and others used their own tents, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Another disaster scene where Down Home insulated tents would be needed.