Earthquake in China kills at least 118 people
Chinese rescue teams are battling in subzero temperatures to save victims trapped in rubble after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit the northern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, killing at least 118 people and injuring more than 500.
The earthquake’s epicentre was in Jishishan county, about 800 miles south-west of Beijing, and severely jolted the remote and mountainous provinces of Gansu and neighbouring Qinghai around midnight, trapping people in their beds as their homes collapsed around them.
Roads were damaged and communication and power lines knocked out, leaving many to huddle in blankets around street fires in the bitter cold as temperatures plummeted to as low as -14C.
Gansu province was the worst affected, suffering the majority of deaths. More than 4,700 houses had been damaged, the provincial authorities said in a Tuesday morning news conference. The number of missing people in the aftermath is as yet unknown.
The tremors struck at a shallow depth of just over six miles and last nearly 20 seconds. The impact was captured on CCTV that showed buildings shaking violently, people rushing to safety and car horns blaring.
Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, immediately called for “all-out efforts” in the search and relief work as well as ensuring the safety of the survivors and their property.
About 2,200 rescue personnel from the provincial fire department and forest brigade as well as professional emergency rescue teams were dispatched to the disaster zone, Xinhua reported. The military and the police have also joined the rescue effort.
Footage on Chinese state media showed rescue workers in bright orange uniforms, some with sniffer dogs, line up for duty, while a video posted by the Ministry of Emergency Management showed them already in action overnight, using rods to try to shift concrete debris by torchlight.
Workers were seen removing rubble with shovels and carrying victims to safety on stretchers.
Tents, folding beds and quilts are also being rushed to the disaster area, which is located in a high-altitude region.
Some of the first clips to emerge from the earthquake zone showed streets strewn with glass and debris and the collapsed walls and ceilings of homes.
In one scene, an old man clutched his bleeding head in what appears to be the inside of his damaged home as the camera shifted to reveal chunks of stone scattered across a bed.
Some 60 miles from the epicentre, university students in Lanzhou, Gansu’s capital, rushed out of their dorms, according to a social media post that had images showing young people hastily leaving a building and standing outside.
Many were dressed only in their pajamas, said Wang Xi, a student at Lanzhou University.
“The earthquake was too intense,” she said. “My legs went weak, especially when we ran downstairs from the dormitory.”
Taiwan, which is also at risk from deadly earthquakes, was among the first to offer help and condolences to China.
“My sincere condolences to all those who have lost loved ones in the recent earthquake in northwestern China. We pray that all those affected receive the aid they need, and we hope for a swift recovery. Taiwan stands ready to offer assistance in the disaster response effort,” said Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s president.
Earthquakes are common in western provinces such as Gansu, which lie on the eastern boundary of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, a tectonically active area.
China’s deadliest quake in recent decades was in 2008 when a magnitude-8.0 temblor struck Sichuan, killing nearly 70,000 people.
In August, a shallow 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck eastern China. In September 2022, a 6.6-magnitude quake hit Sichuan province leaving almost 100 dead.
