Tourists were forbidden the access to Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, and government workers were confined to their offices by police, a day after the riots started in the city, leaving at least 30 protesters dead, as a Tibetan exile group declared.

"We are confirming approximately 30 deaths, and we are even hearing numbers of over 100 dead, but this number we are unable to confirm," Tenzin Taklha, a senior official in the exiled Tibetan administration told ABC News.

"We have various people who have relatives in Tibet who sending out messages, calling their relatives," Taklha added.

Chinese authorities clashed with Tibetan demonstrators in the largest and most violent riot in the area in nearly twenty years. The protests have spread to various areas of China, as well as the United States, Nepal and India.

The protest started on Monday in Tibet, with a peaceful demonstration of Buddhist monks, who were celebrating 49^th years since an uprising against Chinese rule. The demonstrations continued during the week, in various places across the world, culminating with more than 100 Tibetan exiles being arrested in Dharamsala, India, after initiating a march to their homeland.

On Friday, the demonstrations turned into a violent riot in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, when protesters set on fire shops and cars. Witnesses said they heard gunshots both on Friday and on Saturday night, the Associated Press informs.

China's official Xinhua News Agency announced that at least 10 innocent civilians were killed on Friday, during the riot.

In India, the Tibetan exiled government said Chinese authorities killed at least 30 Tibetans, but it suspects the number of deaths could actually be as high as 100.