Earthquake kills more than 100 in China

An overnight earthquake killed at least 118 people in a cold and mountainous region in northwestern China, the country’s state media has reported.

Search and rescue operations were underway in Gansu and neighboring Qinghai provinces after the magnitude 6.2 quake, with temperatures plunging to minus 15C.

The earthquake left more than 500 people injured, severely damaged houses and roads, and knocked out power and communication lines, according to media reports.

It struck near the boundary between the two provinces at a relatively shallow depth of six miles just before midnight on Monday, the China Earthquake Networks Center said.

The US Geological Survey measured the magnitude at 5.9.

The earthquake was felt in much of the surrounding area, including Lanzhou, the Gansu provincial capital, about 60 miles northeast of the epicenter.

Photos and videos posted by a student at Lanzhou University showed students hastily leaving a dormitory building and standing outside with long down jackets over their pajamas.

“The earthquake was too intense,” said Wang Xi, the student who posted the images. “My legs went weak, especially when we ran downstairs from the dormitory.”

The quake struck in Gansu’s Jishishan county, about three miles from the provincial boundary with Qinghai.

The epicentre was about 800 miles southwest of Beijing, the Chinese capital. There were nine aftershocks by 10 am, about 10 hours after the initial earthquake, the largest one registering a magnitude of 4.1, a Gansu official said.

The remote and mountainous area is home to several predominantly Muslim ethnic groups and near some Tibetan communities.

It is in the centre of China, though the area is commonly referred to as the northwest, as it is at the northwestern edge of China’s more populated plains.

The overnight low in the area was minus 15C to minus 9C , the China meteorological administration said.

At least 4,000 firefighters, soldiers and police officers were dispatched in the rescue effort, and the people’s liberation army western theatre set up a command post to direct its work.

Han, the Gansu spokesperson, said the rescue work was proceeding in an orderly manner and asked people to avoid going to the quake-hit areas to prevent traffic jams that could hinder the effort.

(This story is being updated)