Newsnomics AJAY ANGELINA reporter |
A deadly earthquake of 6.2 magnitude struck the northwestern mountainous region of Beijing, the capital city of China including Lanzhou, the Gansu provincial capital, about 100 kilometers northeast of the epicenter on Monday.
According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, “the earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck in Gansu at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers just before midnight on Monday.”
At least 127 people have been killed, more than 700 people injured, 155,000 houses damaged along with roads, electricity and communication lines are knocked out as a result of strong deadly earthquake.
CCTV reported that there was damage to water and electricity lines, as well as transportation and communications infrastructure.
About 105 people confirmed to be dead in Gansu and another 397 injured, including 16 in critical condition, said Han Shujun, a spokesperson for the provincial emergency management department at a news conference.
Another, 11 were killed and at least 140 injured in Qinghai, according to state media.
Gansu’s Jishishan county, about 5 kilometers from the provincial boundary with Qinghai was severely affected by the earthquake with a magnitude of 4.1 and the epicenter was about 1,300 kilometers. There were nine aftershocks by 10 a.m., about 10 hours after the earthquake, said the Gansu official.
Search and rescue operations were underway in Gansu and neighboring Qinghai provinces by dispatching at least 4,000 firefighters, soldiers and police officers, also the People's Liberation Army Western Theater set up a command post to direct its work.
Xi Jinping, the current President of China quoted the calling for an all-out search and rescue effort to minimize the casualties.
