Accessibility links

Breaking News

More than 160 Dead, 6,700 Injured in China Earthquake


An aerial view shows houses damaged after a strong earthquake in Lushan county, Ya'an, Sichuan province, Apr. 20, 2013.
An aerial view shows houses damaged after a strong earthquake in Lushan county, Ya'an, Sichuan province, Apr. 20, 2013.
The death toll from a powerful earthquake Saturday in southwest China's Sichuan province has climbed to more than 160 people, with more than 6,700 injured.

China's official Xinhua news agency says President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out measures to rescue victims and minimize casualties following the disaster.

Chinese officials called it a 7.0-magnitude quake, while the U.S. Geological Survey put the strength at 6.6. The quake occurred at a depth of 13 kilometers.

Aerial photos released by China's military and aired on state television showed individual houses in ruins and some stretches of the county seat and villages flattened into rubble.

After the quake, state media said hard-hit parts of Lushan county were unreachable by road, with phone services cut off. Xinhua said the quake also rattled buildings in the provincial capital of Chengdu, 115 kilometers to the east.

The incident brings back painful memories for Sichuan, which suffered a 2008 earthquake that killed more than 70,000 people.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has flown to the region to oversee relief efforts.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.


Photo gallery of earthquake in China

  • 16x9 Image

    VOA News

    The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.

XS
SM
MD
LG