19 killed, tourists evacuated as series of quakes hit China

JIUZHAIGOU: A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck a remote part of China’s south-western province of Sichuan, killing 19 and injuring 247, the provincial government said yesterday.

The quake hit a sparsely populated area late on Tuesday at a depth of 10km, the US Geological Survey said. It was also close to the Jiuzhaigou nature reserve, a tourist destination.

Sichuan is often struck by tremors. A huge quake there in 2008 killed almost 70 000.

A separate quake of magnitude 6.6 hit a remote part of China’s far north-western region of Xinjiang, more than 2 000km away, yesterday, the Chinese earthquake administration said. The People’s Daily said 32 people had been injured in the area.

The Sichuan government said rescuers were evacuating tourists and residents who had been cut off by landslides. Most of those injured were not seriously hurt. The dead included eight tourists.

In nearby Longnan, also jolted by the quake, eight died in landslides caused by heavy rain. The Sichuan government added that 45 000 tourists had been evacuated. A few dozen tourists were camped out at Jiuzhaigou airport, waiting for flights. The airport was open and beginning to evacuate people by air.

A traveller with a young daughter, who gave his family name as Li, said he was in his hotel when the earthquake hit.

“The walls and floor shook. Some things fell off the table,” he said.

Some people were injured in the hotel but most were fine.

“The rescue services showed up quickly and gave us water and things to eat,” Li said.