7.1 Magnitude Chinese Earthquake Kills 300, Thousands Injured
A 7.1 magnitude earthquake rocked a remote county in western China, mostly Tibetan-populated, early Wednesday, which killed at least 300 and injured 8,000 as reported by the state television.
The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at 6.9 magnitude. There were at least six aftershocks reported, the strongest measuring 6.2.
The quake struck in Qinghai province about 20 miles from the county seat of Yushu. Yushu is about 500 miles southwest of Qinghai's capital, Xining, and is mostly populated by 100,000 Tibetan people.
The Chinese earthquake brought down houses, an elementary school and part of a Buddhist tower in a public park and caused a lot of damage to the main hospital in town, as reported by Chinese media.
Army commander Wu Yong spoke to the state-run China Daily and said, "The death toll may rise further as lots of houses collapsed,"
"Roads leading to the airport have been damaged, hampering the rescue effort."
Many people are feared to be buried under the collapsed houses. Phone lines are down, which is hindering the rescue efforts in coordinating.
A military official, Shi Huajie, told state television CCTV, "We don't have any excavators. Many of the people have been buried, and our soldiers are trying to pull them out," "It is very difficult to save people with our bare hands."
We will keep you posted on details of the China earthquake, as they come in.
