A deadly earthquake of magnitude 5.9, followed by another earthquake of magnitude 6.2 has killed at least 116 people and left 220 severely injured under collapsed buildings in China’s northwest region.
State media reported Tuesday that emergency workers in Gansu province raced to excavate the wreckage in freezing conditions.
Local officials said, at least 105 died and almost 400 were injured in Gansu province after the strong tremor struck around midnight.
It also killed 11 people and left 100 wounded in the city of Haidong in the neighbouring province of Qinghai, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Several buildings crashed, emptying residents to the streets, running for safety. A woman in her mid-30s swaddled in a blanket outside, cradling a baby appeared in a viral video, saying:
“I was almost scared to death. Look at how my hands and legs are shaking…As soon as I ran out of the house, the earth on the mountain gave way”
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for “all-out efforts” in the search and rescue work. To avert secondary disasters, a rescue operation is underway early Tuesday, with temperatures sinking below freezing in the high-altitude area.
The epicentre of the quake which was logged as magnitude 5.9 is about 100 kilometres southwest of Gansu province’s capital, Lanzhou.
The second quake which was felt in the major city of Xi’an in northern Shaanxi province, about 570 kilometres away was logged as being magnitude 6.2.
Several smaller aftershocks followed the initial earthquake, and officials warned that tremors with a magnitude of more than 5.0 were likely in the coming days.
Earthquakes are common in China. In August, a shallow 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck eastern China, injuring 23 people and collapsing several structures.
In September last year, 100 people died when a 6.6-magnitude quake hit Sichuan province.