Hundreds Dead in Western China Quake

Posted on Apr 14, 2010

news.bbc.co.uk

A still from Chinese television shows soldiers searching for survivors after the earthquake in Qinghai province.

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit China’s western Qinghai province Wednesday morning, killing an estimated 400 people and injuring thousands more in yet another natural disaster for the developing world.

The death toll is almost certain to rise as rescue teams begin arriving to dig through the rubble. —JCL

The BBC:

Some 400 people have died and thousands are feared injured after a magnitude-6.9 quake hit western China’s Qinghai province, officials say.

The powerful tremor struck remote Yushu county, 800km (500 miles) south-west of the provincial capital Xining, at 0749 (2349 GMT), at a shallow depth of 10km.

Most of the buildings in the worst-hit town of Jiegu were wrecked, and landslides have cut off roads.

Police said hundreds of survivors had already been pulled from the rubble.

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