The death toll following Wednesday's earthquake in China has risen to 1700 report Chinese media. At least 250 people are still missing.

The western province of Qinghai, which is on the Tibetan border was hit by an earthquake registering 6.9 on the Richter scale. There were six consecutive earth tremors causing many buidings in the thinly-populated mountainous region to collapse.

President Hu Jintao is visiting the stricken area today.