At least 131 people have been killed after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck a mountainous region of northwestern China, the country’s state media has said.
China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday that the death toll in Gansu province now stands at 113 following the nation’s deadliest earthquake in almost a decade.
Another 18 have died in the neighbouring province of Qinghai.
The 6.2 magnitude quake struck the province of Gansu just before midnight local time on Monday.
The quake happened in the north west of China, near the borders of Gansu and Qinghai provinces
Thousands of rescuers have been braving sub-zero conditions to find and treat survivors.
Temperatures around the epicentre in Gansu fell to around -15C on Tuesday night, with many sheltering in relief tents.
As search and rescue efforts draw to a close, officials say the focus is now turning to the injured.
In total, 980 people have been injured and at least 16 are still missing.
People have been sheltering in relief tents as temperatures hit -15C. Pic: AP
The Jujizhen area and cities of Lanzhou and Linxia were the hardest hit
The quake struck in Gansu’s Jishishan county, about three miles from the provincial boundary with Qinghai.
CCTV reported that water and electricity lines, as well as transportation and communications infrastructure, have been damaged.
The earthquake was felt in much of the surrounding area, including the Gansu provisional capital Lanzhou, about 1,450 kilometres (900 miles) southwest of the capital Beijing.
University students there rushed out of their dorms, according to a social media post that had images showing young people standing outside.
“The earthquake was too intense,” said one student.
“My legs went weak, especially when we ran downstairs from the dormitory.”
Tents, folding beds and quilts were being sent to the disaster area, CCTV said.
According to China’s state broadcaster CCTV, President Xi Jinping called for an all-out search and rescue effort to minimise the number of casualties.
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Dozens of people have been killed after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck a mountainous region of northwestern China, the country’s state media has said.
It occurred in an area of high prevalence for earthquakes, with fault lines running across the Himalayas Mountains, as the India and Eurasia plates collide
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The death toll was the highest since an August 2014 earthquake killed 617 people in southwest China’s Yunnan province.
In September 2022 at least 74 people were reportedly killed in a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that shook China’s southwestern province of Sichuan, triggering landslides and shaking buildings in the provincial capital of Chengdu, where 21 million residents were under a COVID-19 lockdown.
China’s deadliest earthquake in recent years was a 7.9 magnitude quake in 2008 that killed nearly 90,000 people in Sichuan.
It devastated towns, schools and rural communities outside Chengdu, leading to a years-long effort to rebuild with more resistant materials.
