Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for expeditious search and rescue mission as powerful magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck China’s remote Gansu province at midnight on Monday, killing at least 118 and injuring more than 500 people.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered thousands of rescue crew to the region, among the poorest and most diverse in China.
President Xi said: “All efforts should be made to carry out search and rescue, treat the injured in a timely manner, and minimize casualties.”
According to local officials on Tuesday, the magnitude 6.2 temblor struck just before midnight and left more than 700 people injured. Roads in the region were damaged and power and communication lines cut.
Persecond News reports that by mid-morning, 105 people had been confirmed dead in Gansu and another 397 injured, including 16 in critical condition, Han Shujun, a spokesperson for the provincial emergency management department, said at a news conference.
Thirteen others were killed and 182 injured in Qinghai in an area north of the epicenter, according to state media. Another 20 were missing in Qinghai after being buried in a landslide, the China News Service said.
There were nine aftershocks by 10am – about 10 hours after the initial earthquake – the largest one registering a magnitude of 4.1.
The earthquake was felt in much of the surrounding area, including Lanzhou, the Gansu provincial capital, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) northeast of the epicentre.
China sits in a region where a number of tectonic plates – notably the Eurasian, Indian and Pacific plates – meet, and is particularly prone to earthquakes.
Last September, more than 60 people were killed when a 6.6-magnitude quake hit south-western Sichuan province.
The Gansu earthquake is the deadliest in China since 2014, when more than 600 people were killed by a quake in south-western Yunnan province.
A devastating earthquake in Yushu, Qinghai province, claimed almost 2,700 lives in 2010
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