High level of rescue goes beyond altitude

Watching from afar, I am struck by the high level of the rescue work at Yushu, the Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Qinghai province, western China, which was devastated by a 7.1 magnitude quake on April 14.

With the death toll climbing to 2,064 by Tuesday, the disaster came as a complete surprise to the local people, destroying their homes in moments. To them, the catastrophe is unprecedented.

Also unprecedented is the level of the rescue work, which started almost as soon as the first shock wave was over.