- President Xi Jinping asks authorities to ‘make every effort’ to treat the injured, repair infrastructure and resettle affected residents
- Quake epicentre located in Jishishan county, an autonomous ethnic minority county; caused houses to collapse and damaged utility infrastructure
Rescue workers conduct search and rescue operations at Kangdiao village following the earthquake in Jishishan county, Gansu province. Photo: Reuters111 people have died and 140 are injured in a 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck the northwestern province of Gansu on Monday night, as per state news agency Xinhua.
The quake killed 100 people in Gansu province and 11 in neighbouring Qinghai province, according to Xinhua.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has asked authorities on Tuesday morning to “make every effort” to treat the injured, repair infrastructure and resettle affected residents.
The quake’s epicentre is in Jishishan county, an autonomous ethnic minority county with a population of nearly 240,000.
The quake caused houses to collapse in the area and damaged utility infrastructure.
The Ministry of Transport, which monitors the operation of roads, said on Tuesday morning that a bridge across the Yellow River had cracked because of the quake.
China’s top healthcare authority, the National Health Commission, has sent medical experts from top hospitals to the disaster area to provide support, state broadcaster CCTV said on Tuesday morning.
Gansu province’s top two officials – provincial party secretary Hu Changsheng and governor Ren Zhenhe – also headed to the disaster area early on Tuesday.