About 700 people who died in a massive earthquake in north-west China on Wednesday have been cremated² outside the worst-hit town, Jiegu.

中国玉树地震大约700名遇难者尸体被集中到一起进行集体火葬。

Buddhist³ monks⁴" width="466" height="260" src="/upimg/100418/4_070042_1.jpg" />
The victims were cremated by Buddhist monks

After being blessed by chanting Buddhist monks, the bodies were placed in a trench⁵（沟渠，战壕） and set alight（使燃烧，使着火） .

The number of people known to have died in Qinghai province has risen to 1,339, with 322 missing, officials say.

China's President Hu Jintao flew to give support to the region on Sunday after cutting short（打断，缩短） a trip to Brazil.

Thousands homeless

Tibetans traditionally perform sky burials, which involve chopping（截断） a body into pieces and leaving it on a platform to be devoured⁶ by vultures（秃鹰） .

But the authorities have decided⁷ to cremate¹（火葬） victims because of fears that disease may spread rapidly.

"The vultures can't eat them all," said one local man.

Local monks constructed a huge funeral pyre（火葬用的柴堆） near Jiegu township.

Thousands of people have been left homeless, with many having to sleep outdoors in freezing temperatures.

The rescue effort is continuing, but it is four days since the earthquake hit, the chances of finding more people alive under the rubble⁸ of Jiegu are growing slim, said the BBC's Quentin Sommerville.

Many of those who survived the quake have endured days without proper shelter or food. The town lies high in the mountains of Qinghai, the air is thin and the temperature often drops below freezing at night.

China has despatched 10,000 troops and doctors to help, but the scale of the devastation⁹（毁坏，荒废） is so large, they are struggling to cope.

But the authorities in Beijing have pledged to do everything they can to help the victims of the earthquake, and eventually, to rebuild the shattered town.

Premier¹⁰ Wen Jiabao has promised "all-out effort" to rebuild the area.