Three dead and many injured in earthquake in Sichuan Province

Three people were killed and dozens injured when a shallow earthquake hit southwest China yesterday, prompting the second-highest level of emergency response by rescuers in Sichuan Province.

The quake hit Luxian County before dawn yesterday, 120 kilometers southwest of the sprawling mega-city of Chongqing, which, along with the surrounding area, is home to about 30 million people.

Rescue workers rushed to lift people from under the rubble, and transported them from damaged buildings on stretchers, a video taken by the Sichuan fire brigade showed.

Photo: AFP

Dozens of houses in Luxian were reduced to rubble and many others were damaged. Local media published pictures of collapsed ceilings in a hospital, with residents wandering the streets after being told not to return to their homes.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated the earthquake’s magnitude at 5.4, but the China Earthquake Networks Center measured it as 6.0. Both placed them at a shallow depth of 10 km.

Luxi authorities said the quake resulted in “three deaths, three serious injuries and 57 minor injuries”.

The local government said at least 10,000 people have been transferred to emergency shelters.

Live footage from Luxian broadcast by China Central Television showed workers climbing stairs in torrential rain to remove dangerous debris suspended from buildings, including half-broken panes of glass.

Pictures taken by the Sichuan Daily showed the students leaving their dormitories in the dark earlier in the day, clutching umbrellas and carrying backpacks.

The authorities downplayed the immediate threat of larger aftershocks.

“It is unlikely that there will be a bigger earthquake in the region in the near future, but the aftershocks will continue for some time,” Du Bin, deputy director of the Sichuan Earthquake Department, told reporters.

China Global Television Network published security camera footage showing televisions and refrigerators vibrating on the walls of houses as the earthquake struck, as ornaments smashed on floors and cracks broke in buildings.

Pictures showed that bricks were scattered on the roads and trees were cut down in some areas.

The US Geological Survey said in a preliminary assessment that “significant damage is likely and the disaster is widespread”.

The local government in Sichuan wrote on Sina Weibo that many power lines were down and 62,000 households suffered power outages after the quake.

The local government said highway traffic passing through the area has been rerouted to make way for emergency vehicles and to avoid damaged roads.

A 7.9-magnitude earthquake in Sichuan Province in 2008 killed or missing 87,000 people.

They included thousands of children killed when poorly constructed school buildings collapsed, but the government failed to release the exact death toll as the case took on a political dimension.

Law enforcement authorities detained human rights defenders who attempted to count the number of children who died and to mark buildings that had collapsed amid suspicions of poor construction.

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