4 killed, 14 injured as quakes hit southwest China | World News

Not less than 4 individuals are useless and 14 others injured after two earthquakes hit southwestern China on Wednesday, state media reported.

A shallow 6.1-magnitude quake hit a sparsely populated space in Sichuan province about 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of provincial capital Chengdu, broadcaster CCTV stated.

It was adopted three minutes later by a second quake of magnitude 4.5 in a close-by county the place the deaths and accidents occurred, in keeping with CCTV.

Footage obtained by the broadcaster confirmed dozens of schoolchildren screaming and ducking beneath desks as their constructing began to shake, earlier than dashing out of the classroom with arms over their heads.

One other video posted on social media by state-run broadcaster CGTN appeared to indicate the primary quake sparking a landslide that broken automobiles and left rocks and soil strewn over a highway.

Authorities within the metropolis of Ya'an dispatched greater than 4,500 folks to the quake space, together with emergency rescue employees, firefighters and navy police, CCTV reported.

It stated town was "going all out to rescue those that have been trapped... and scale back the variety of useless to the best extent potential".

Officers have been additionally scrambling to "guarantee no casualties are attributable to secondary disasters", CCTV added.

Tremors

The China Earthquake Networks Heart stated the primary quake, in Ya'an's Lushan county, struck at a depth of 17 kilometres at about 5pm native time.

The US Geological Survey stated the quake registered a magnitude of 5.9 and was shallower at a depth of 10 kilometres.

Tremors have been felt in cities throughout Sichuan province, damaging some telecommunications traces, state media reported.

Provincial authorities stated some buildings had been broken however there have been no preliminary reviews of any buildings collapsing.

At a press briefing Wednesday night, officers on the provincial earthquake bureau stated the primary quake was an aftershock from a magnitude 7.0 quake in 2013 that killed round 200 folks.

Mountainous Sichuan -- a well-liked vacationer vacation spot dwelling to China's large pandas -- is an earthquake-prone space.

A shallow quake on the border with neighbouring Yunnan province in January this yr injured greater than 20 folks.

Final September three folks have been killed and dozens of others injured when one other shallow quake broken tens of 1000's of properties.

A magnitude 8.0 quake in 2008 in Sichuan's Wenchuan county price tens of 1000's of lives and precipitated monumental injury.

Among the many useless have been 1000's of kids killed when poorly constructed college buildings collapsed, although the federal government didn't launch a precise loss of life toll as the difficulty took on a political dimension.