At least 175 dead after quake hits southwest China

Monday, 4 August 2014 00:50 -     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

BEIJING (Reuters): A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck southwestern China on Sunday, killing at least 175 people and leaving more than 180 missing and 1,400 injured in a remote area of Yunnan province, causing thousands of buildings, including a school, to collapse. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake registered at a shallow depth of less than 1 mile (1.6 km). Chinese state media said it was felt most strongly in Yunnan as well as in the neighboring provinces of Guizhou and Sichuan. The official Xinhua news agency said the epicenter was in Longtoushan town in Yunnan’s mountainous Ludian county. Communications have been seriously affected and rescuers have begun arriving on the scene, the report said. Pictures posted online by state media showed troops stretchering people away and cars damaged by fallen bricks. Many people rushed out of buildings onto the street after the quake hit, electricity supplies were cut and at least one school collapsed, Xinhua added, with more than 12,000 houses having collapsed and 30,000 sustaining damage.

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