Chinese rescuers have saved a 68-year-old man trapped under earthquake rubble for 100 hours.

Dawa, an ethnic Tibetan, was rescued at about 11 a.m. Sunday under the debris of his collapsed home in Gyegu Town, Qinghai Province, and his condition is stable, rescuers said.

Clad in thick cotton clothes and with a bandage wrapped around his face, Dawa was carried away on a stretcher by rescuers.

An initial medical examination showed the old man's ribs were broken.

Zhou Guoxing, group leader of the rescue team, said the old man managed to survive because he was not severely injured and trapped in a space where he could move around.

"We removed the debris and he was freed," Zhou said.

The miracle came as authorities hiked the death toll from the devastating earthquake to 1,706.

As of 10 a.m. Sunday, the quake, which struck the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu Wednesday, has also left 12,128 injured, of whom 1,424 are in severe condition, rescue headquarters said.