RESCUERS with shovels and bare hands were still clawing through rubble late last night to hunt for survivors of a quake in a remote area of China which killed over 600 people and left thousands homeless.

China poured rescue workers and equipment into a mountainous Tibetan region today in a bid to find survivors after earthquakes killed more than 600 people and injured thousands.

A SERIES of strong earthquakes struck a mountainous Tibetan area of western China, killing at least 400 people and injuring more than 10,000 as houses made of mud and wood collapsed, officials said.

The death toll from a 6.9-magnitude earthquake that hit western China rose to around 300 today, with 8,000 people said to have been injured.