China earthquake kills at least 47 people

At least 47 people have been killed and over 300 others injured in an earthquake which hit a juncture region of two counties in northwest China’s Gansu Province Monday morning, Chinese media reported.

The 6.6-magnitude quake happened at 7:45 a.m. at the junction of the Minxian County and Zhangxian County in the city of Dingxi, the Gansu Provincial Seismological Bureau said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 20 km, was monitored at 34.5 degrees north latitude and 104.2 degrees east longitude, the China Earthquake Networks Center said.

Sources with the Minxian County government said most of the townships in the county have been affected by the quake. The townships of Meichuan and Puma were seriously hit.

Many homes in the quake-hit region collapsed, according to the civil affairs bureau of the Dingxi City.

Locals in Minxian County said a strong tremor was felt and they saw trees and homes shake, adding that the quake lasted for about one minute, Xinhua reported.

Soldiers, police and more than 300 local militiamen have been dispatched to the quake-hit region to help with rescue efforts.

Meanwhile, the earthquake was also felt in neighboring cities of Longnan and Tianshui, as well as the provincial capital city of Lanzhou.

The cities of Xi’an, Baoji and Xianyang in neighboring Shaanxi Province were also reported to have felt the quake.

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Posted by Tahir Khan on Jul 22 2013. Filed under Latest News, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.