Nearly 300 dead in an earthquake of 7.1 degrees in western China
Posted on April 14, 2010 by storm
At least 300 people have died and 8,000 are injured after an earthquake of 7.1 degrees rocked the western Chinese province of Qinghai, said the official news agency Xinhua.
The quake occurred at 7:49 local time (23.49 GMT Tuesday), according to the China Earthquake Administration, and the epicenter was located in the district of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of the same name. So far we have identified three replicas of the earthquake, Chinese officials said. The largest of these, with an intensity of 6.3 degrees, there was an hour and 36 minutes after the earthquake.
Have collapsed 85 percent of the houses in Jiegu, a town in northwestern Qinghai province where it has located the epicenter, according to a spokesman of the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous prefecture was quoted by Xinhua said. “Many people have been buried under collapsed houses. There are many other wounded people are receiving treatment at local hospitals,” he added.
Students from several elementary schools are also trapped under the rubble, said a police official Chinese military, Huajian Shi, who is working on the rescue efforts. “We have to rely mainly on our hands because we do not have bulldozers,” he said.
