A powerful earthquake rocked China’s southwestern Sichuan Province Saturday morning, killing at least 132 people, injuring more than 5,500 and leaving unknown numbers of people trapped, according to the state media.
The earthquake, which struck at 8:02 a.m. local time in Ya’an city, occurred 53 miles from the devastating quake five years ago that left 87,000 people dead or missing in a mountainous region northeast of Chengdu, the provincial capital.
The quake on Saturday occurred along the same fault line.
In one hard-hit township, Longmen, one resident reported that 90 percent of the homes had been destroyed, suggesting the death toll could rise much higher.
The Chengdu Evening Paper said 600 people had been injured, 135 of them seriously, in Lushan County, which is part of Ya’an city. Xinhua quoted a hospital official who said scores of injured people were sprawled in front of the county hospital Saturday afternoon. Firefighters in Lushan pulled 27 survivors from collapsed buildings, Xinhua said.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and several other senior officials from Beijing flew to Sichuan on Saturday afternoon, according to the state media. “The current most urgent issue is grasping the first 24 hours after the quake’s occurrence, the golden time for saving lives, to take scientific rescue measures and save peoples’ lives,” Xinhua quoted Mr. Li as saying. He took a helicopter to Lushan County, and he went to the county’s main hospital to visit the injured, according to Sichuan media.
The China Earthquake Networks Center said the quake had a magnitude of 7.0, and occurred six miles beneath the earth’s surface. Scientists said the quake was relatively shallow and thus more destructive.
“Now the houses on both sides of the street have become dangerous buildings,” Zhang Linpeng told the Sichuan news service. “I’ve seen people trapped in the ruins, and some people died. Many of the injured have been pulled out.”
Rescue efforts were hampered by landslides, and officials expressed concern over two barrier lakes that had formed after debris blocked two waterways.
Xinhua said one soldier was killed and seven injured after the truck they were riding in plunged into a river. Photos taken on the highway to Ya’an showed an enormous boulder blocking the way.
According to the state media, more than 7,400 soldiers and armed police and two helicopters had been dispatched to the quake zone. The authorities also sent another 1,400 provincial rescue workers, 180 doctors from a national emergency response team, 120 “professional rescue vehicles” and six search-and-rescue dogs. As a precaution, 80,000 inmates were evacuated from prisons in the affected area.
The earthquake, which struck at 8:02 a.m. local time in Ya’an city, occurred 53 miles from the devastating quake five years ago that left 87,000 people dead or missing in a mountainous region northeast of Chengdu, the provincial capital.
The quake on Saturday occurred along the same fault line.
In one hard-hit township, Longmen, one resident reported that 90 percent of the homes had been destroyed, suggesting the death toll could rise much higher.
The Chengdu Evening Paper said 600 people had been injured, 135 of them seriously, in Lushan County, which is part of Ya’an city. Xinhua quoted a hospital official who said scores of injured people were sprawled in front of the county hospital Saturday afternoon. Firefighters in Lushan pulled 27 survivors from collapsed buildings, Xinhua said.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and several other senior officials from Beijing flew to Sichuan on Saturday afternoon, according to the state media. “The current most urgent issue is grasping the first 24 hours after the quake’s occurrence, the golden time for saving lives, to take scientific rescue measures and save peoples’ lives,” Xinhua quoted Mr. Li as saying. He took a helicopter to Lushan County, and he went to the county’s main hospital to visit the injured, according to Sichuan media.
The China Earthquake Networks Center said the quake had a magnitude of 7.0, and occurred six miles beneath the earth’s surface. Scientists said the quake was relatively shallow and thus more destructive.
“Now the houses on both sides of the street have become dangerous buildings,” Zhang Linpeng told the Sichuan news service. “I’ve seen people trapped in the ruins, and some people died. Many of the injured have been pulled out.”
Rescue efforts were hampered by landslides, and officials expressed concern over two barrier lakes that had formed after debris blocked two waterways.
Xinhua said one soldier was killed and seven injured after the truck they were riding in plunged into a river. Photos taken on the highway to Ya’an showed an enormous boulder blocking the way.
According to the state media, more than 7,400 soldiers and armed police and two helicopters had been dispatched to the quake zone. The authorities also sent another 1,400 provincial rescue workers, 180 doctors from a national emergency response team, 120 “professional rescue vehicles” and six search-and-rescue dogs. As a precaution, 80,000 inmates were evacuated from prisons in the affected area.
Source: NYTimes
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