At least 116, according to other reports 118, people have been killed and hundreds injured in an earthquake in northwestern China; rescue teams continue to search for people under the rubble in sub-zero temperatures.
A powerful earthquake shook China
The earthquake struck around midnight in Gansu Province. As of the morning of 19 December, the quake killed 105 people and damaged more than 4,700 buildings in the province. In the neighbouring Qinghai province, there were 11 deaths.
At least 397 more people were injured in Hanga: 16 of them were in critical condition and 76 in serious condition.
Reuters reports a higher number of casualties — at least 118 people have already been killed, and another 20 are missing.
According to the US Geological Survey, the magnitude of the earthquake was 5.9 at a shallow depth of just over 6 miles (less than 10 km). The Chinese Earthquake Administration gave a slightly higher rating of 6.2.
The tremors lasted almost 20 seconds and were felt in the provincial capital of Lanzhou, 102 kilometres from the epicentre.
The rescue operation involves 1,600 firefighters.
The earthquake resulted in the disruption of water and electricity supply, as well as mobile communications in some areas, which complicates rescue operations.
At night, when people were running out of their homes to escape the earthquake, it was — 14 degrees Celsius outside.
