Beijing: At least 115 people were killed after a massive earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale struck China’s Gansu province, authorities said on Tuesday.
According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the quake occurred at 11.59 p.m. on Monday night and had a focal depth of 10 km, reports Xinhua news agency.
The epicentre Liugou Township is about 8 km from the county seat of Jishishan Bao’an, Dongxiang, Salar Autonomous County in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu.
The earthquake was also felt strongly in the cities of Xining and Haidong in Qinghai, where some houses collapsed and cracked.
The fatalities were reported from Gansu and neighbouring Qinghai.
The railway authority has suspended passenger and cargo trains passing through the quake zone and ordered a safety check of the tracks.
President Xi Jinping has ordered full rescue efforts to Gansu.
In a statement, President Xi Jinping said that “all efforts should be made to carry out search and rescue, treat the injured in a timely manner, and minimise casualties”.
A 1920 earthquake in Gansu , which killed more than 200,000 people, is also recorded as one of the world’s deadliest in the 20th century.
