At least 19 dead in quake near scenic national park
BEIJING — Stranded tourists and residents struggled Wednesday to clear roads and cope with power cuts caused by a powerful earthquake that killed at least 19 people and injured 247.
The magnitude 6.5 quake struck a mountainous region near a national park that is one of the country’s top tourist attractions. Rescuers dug through rubble with their hands and used detectors to search for signs of life. The Tuesday night quake knocked out power and phone networks, complicating efforts to locate and evacuate survivors.
Most of the deaths and injuries were recorded in Zhangzha township, near to Jiuzhaigou or Jiuzhai Valley, a national park known for spectacular waterfalls and karst formations that attracts visitors from China and overseas.
Yang Jie, who owns a hostel in Zhangzha, said she was at a hotpot restaurant with friends when the lights went out and everything started shaking at around 9:20 p.m. Tuesday.
“People were rushing out, some people were screaming,” Yang said by phone. “On our way home, there were rocks falling down from the hills on both sides of the road. We couldn’t get through on the phone because there was no signal.”
Yang and her friends returned to find large cracks in her hostel and set up tents outside for guests to sleep in.
On Wednesday, she said the building was still without power, stores were closed and “houses around us are damaged beyond recognition.”
President Xi Jinping called for rapid efforts to respond to the disaster, which struck a quakeprone region bordered by Sichuan and Gansu provinces. The area is on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and home to many Tibetan and other ethnic minority villages.
Among the injured, 40 were listed in serious condition, according to the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture government in Sichuan. At least five of the dead were tourists, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said.
The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at magnitude 6.5 and said it struck at a depth of just 5.5 miles. Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage than deeper ones.
Xinhua said more than 30,000 tourists visiting Jiuzhaigou were relocated to safer accommodations.