Latest reports indicate that the death toll in the earthquake that hit Tibet earlier today has risen to 1000 and around 15000 people have been injured.Unconfirmed sources including Tibetan exiles belonging to the quake hit area who claimed to have spoken to people there say the death toll is much higher. One Tibetan who said he spoke to someone in his village puts the death toll around 3000. The quake measured 7.1 on Richter scale, according to China Earthquake Networks Center but the United States Geological Survey puts the magnitude at 6.9. The epicenter of the quake lies in Yushu County in the Yushu prefecture. The quake struck at 7:49 a.m. with a depth of about 33 km and is calculated to be 33.1 north and 96.7 east.The strong quake and a string of aftershocks, with the biggest one being 6.3 magnitude, have toppled houses, temples, gas stations and electric poles, triggered landslides, damaged roads, cut power supplies and disrupted telecommunications. A reservoir was also cracked, where workers are trying to prevent the outflow of water.At least 18 aftershocks have been reported so far, with the biggest being 6.3 magnitude about an hour and 36 minutes later.