China earthquake: Death toll rises to 19

At least 19 people were killed and about 250 others injured in the powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake that jolted a mountainous region in China’s southwest Sichuan province rose to 19 on Wednesday with rescuers racing against time to find survivors buried in the rubble.

The massive temblor that struck the popular tourist destination last night was followed by another quake of 6.6- magnitude in the Xinjiang province this morning in which at least three persons were injured.

The massive earthquake in Sichuan struck at 9:19 PM (local time) on Tuesday and the epicentre was monitored at a depth of 20 km, state-run Xinhua new agency reported.

Jiuzhaigou, or Jiuzhai Valley, is a national park known for spectacular waterfalls and karst formations. More than 34,000 people visited the tourist attraction on Tuesday.

The death toll in the quake in Sichuan has risen to 19, with 247 injured, including 40 seriously, local authorities said.

The injured included a French man and a Canadian woman.

Maxence Vallon, 18, was wounded in both legs; while the Canadian woman, who declined to be named, suffered slight injury in the head, the report said. Both were being treated at a hospital of Jiuzhaigou county.

The exact number of casualties

The quake was felt in the provincial capital Chengdu, about 300 kms south of the epicentre, and other regions in the neighbouring provinces of Gansu and Shaanxi

of foreign nationals in the disaster was not immediately known.

“We were lying on an open ground to seek shelter when a big stone fell and hit my brother right in the leg,” said Romain Vallon, who studies in Beijing.

The brothers were staying in a hotel with their mother in Jiuzhaigou when the quake struck. Five among the dead were visitors to the Jiuzhaigou national park, China Earthquake Networks Centre (CENC) said.

So far 31,500 tourists have been relocated.

Tourist coaches and private vehicles have been pressed into service to help transport the stranded tourists.

Power, communication and water supply in the county seat have been restored.

So far the Jiuzhaigou county has dispatched more than 90 emergency vehicles and 1,200 personnel for the rescue work. –PTI