Quake leaves thousands without shelter

Thousands of earthquake survivors in western China prepared to spend a fourth night outdoors in freezing conditions as aftershocks continued to jolt the isolated area, a relief worker said today.

The casualty toll from the magnitude 6.8 earthquake, which devastated Xinjiang region on Monday and wrecked thousands of mud-brick houses, rose to 267 with the death overnight of a severely injured 67-year-old man.