13 dead and 175 injured as earthquake hits China’s south-west
13 people have died and 175 injured after an earthquake struck a mountainous region in south-western China at about 9.20pm on Tuesday evening.
According to China's official Xinhua News Agency, at least five of the deceased were tourists and at least 28 people are thought to have been seriously injured.
President Xi Jinping called for a rapid response effort to the quake which also destroyed the local power and phone networks.
Medical teams, rescuers and other resources have been sent to the site.
13 people are killed, 175 others injured in 7.0-magnitude quake that hit a remote area in southwest China's #Sichuan https://t.co/6dEyurJZ2k pic.twitter.com/QcGIAmICMq
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) August 9, 2017
The quake hit a region bordered by the provinces of Sichuan and Gansu, right on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau.
The epicentre was approximately 24 miles from the county of Jiuzhaigou, which has a population of 80,000.
According to reports, the US Geological Survey measured the earthquake at magnitude 6.5 and 5.5 miles deep, while the China Earthquake Networks Centre said it was magnitude 7.0 and 12 miles deep.
China activates top-level emergency response procedures following 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Sichuan https://t.co/hgdRGcaAKp pic.twitter.com/anvdBfgNBW
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) August 8, 2017
It's understood that the affected towns have suffered minimal structural damage other than the loss of electricity.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday morning, another strong earthquake struck some 1,360 miles away in northwestern China, however there were no casualties reported.
Feature Image: Zheng Lei / Xinhua
