Earthquake Kills 19 In China

No fewer than 19 people have died after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck a remote, mountainous part of China’s southwestern province of Sichuan, government officials said on Wednesday.

The quake which injured about 247 people, hit a sparsely populated area 200 km (120 miles) northwest of the city of Guangyuan late on Tuesday at a depth of 10 km (6 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The dead included eight tourists, two residents and nine whose identities have yet to be confirmed, state television said.

45,000 people have been evacuated from the area.

China’s Earthquake Administration (CEA) said more than 1,000 aftershocks had been detected, with the most powerful reaching 4.8 magnitude on Wednesday.

Sichuan have often been hit by tremors. More than 87,000 people were killed in an earthquake in Sichuan province in 2008.

A separate 6.6-magnitude tremor struck the remote area of XinJiang, injuring 32 people, the Chinese earthquake administration said.

In nearby Longnan in the neighboring province of Gansu, also jolted by the quake, eight people died in landslides caused by heavy rain, the People’s Daily said.

China’s President, Xi Jinping, called for “all-out efforts to rapidly organise relief work and rescue the injured people”, state news agency Xinhua reports, and fire officers and soldiers have been deployed from nearby areas.