The death toll from the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that hit western China's remote Tibetan plateau will rise dramatically and could reach 10,000, locals said on Friday.
The official death toll now stands at 1,144, with a further 243 missing and 1,174 severely injured, according to Xinhua, the Chinese government news agency.
However, monks at Jiegu monastery said at least 1,000 corpses had arrived at their temple alone, and that four other monasteries had each collected a similar number.
"The government is downplaying the number," said Ge Laidanzeng, a 20- year-old monk. He said that when all the bodies were retrieved from the wreckage of the town there would "definitely be more than 10,000 dead".