127 killed in China earthquake

Beijing, December 19

At least 127 people were killed and over 700 others injured due to a 6.2-magnitude earthquake in a mountainous region of northwestern China late night on Monday. It has been the deadliest earquake in the region in nine years.

The earthquake, followed by strong aftershocks, killed 113 people in Gansu, while 14 died in the neighbouring Qinghai province in the Himalayan region, the local authorities said on Tuesday as they launched rescue efforts in icy conditions.

While 536 people were injured in Gansu, 182 people were wounded and 20 others were missing in Qinghai, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Besides, the earthquake damaged 1,55,393 houses in Gansu.

Qinghai province is adjacent to the Tibet Himalayan region, which is prone to frequent earthquakes due to shifting of continental plates.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Centre, the shallow quake jolted Gansu and Qinghai provinces at 11:59 pm on Monday, with a focal depth of 10 kilometres.

The epicentre of the earthquake in Liugou township was about 8 km from the county seat of Jishishan Bao'an, Dongxiang, Sala autonomous county in Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture in Gansu.

The epicentre of the earthquake in Gansu was only 5 km away from the boundary between the two provinces. Within 50 km of the epicentre, there are 22 townships in Qinghai, Xinhua reported.

Wang Wen, vice mayor of Haidong city in Qinghai, told the media that local departments will carry out safety checks on infrastructure like the supplies of power, water and gas, as well as communications to ensure that people’s basic necessities are met.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang have ordered all-out rescue efforts to minimise casualties after the earthquake. — PTI

Taiwan prez offers aid

Expressing condolences to China, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen offered her government’s help after the earthquake killed more than 100 persons on the northern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Tensions between Taipei and Beijing, which views the democratically governed island as its own territory, have soared in the past four years. But setting that aside, Tsai offered aid via a statement on the X. Reuters

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