111 people lose their lives in earthquake in China's Gansu province

According to the Chinese news agency Xinhua, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake occurred one minute before midnight last night, with its epicenter in the Jishishan Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County.

According to initial reports from the earthquake, 100 people lost their lives in Gansu province and 11 people in the neighboring Qinghai province.

In the earthquake, which occurred in a region near the border of the two provinces, 96 people were injured in Gansu and 124 in Qinghai. Additionally, water and electricity grids, transportation infrastructure, and communication networks in surrounding settlements were damaged.

A team of 580 people from local fire and disaster units was dispatched to the region for rescue operations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for urgent search and rescue efforts and instructed that necessary arrangements be made to ensure the safety of life and property for citizens affected by the earthquake.

Eyewitnesses report that many houses, roads, and infrastructure in the region were damaged following the earthquake, and that there are power and water outages in many villages connected to the district.

Local meteorological units estimate that the air temperature in the region will drop to minus 10 degrees today.

EARTHQUAKE REGION

Located on a vast fault line extending from the Himalayan Mountains, the region is one of the areas in China where major earthquakes occur frequently.

It was reported that at least 93 people lost their lives in a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Sichuan province, located to the south of the region, in September 2022.

A 7.9 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Sichuan province in 2008 caused massive destruction, and nearly 90 thousand people lost their lives.

News Source: AA