A total of 61 students were dug out from debris at the Third Wanquan Primary School on Wednesday after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake shook Qinghai Province, The Beijing Times reported.

Most students were taken away by family members, although many were still left waiting on the playground. "More than 30 children were dead and it will soon be dark, we have no other way. Those who are injured need medical treatment, but our prefecture can't provide such medical care," Assistant Principal Wen Ming said.

As of 9:00 pm, 34 of the school's 3,000 students had not survived the earthquake and 80 percent of the classrooms had collapsed. According to school Principal Nima Jiangcai, more than 200 students were still trapped in the debris.

Wen said 18 classrooms had been destroyed and two buildings had huge cracks. Despite teachers' immediate efforts to rescue those trapped and send victims to the hospital, it was still too late for some students. "Most of us have no tools and it's impossible to find so many in a minute," he said. Around 60 teachers joined the rescue team with their bare hands, blood oozing out of their fingers.

One teacher at the school died in the quake and several others suffered from broken legs. Wen said some teachers heard about the deaths of their relatives but stayed at the school to try to save their students.

"Students are hugging each other to keep warm on the playground now. Injured students are enduring the cold. I must go to find some tents," Nima said, heading to the local government for further rescue efforts.

As of 4:00 pm Thursday, the death toll had risen to 617. According to a spokesman with the rescue headquarters in Yushu, the latest statistics show 313 people were missing and 9,110 injured.