Added: Apr 14, 2010

From: TheNedaAsadi

Duration: 0:39

Hundreds dead in China quake, state media reports Some 300 people are feared dead after a rapid series of strong earthquakes hit a mountainous and impoverished area of China's Qinghai province early Wednesday, state-run media said. The Xinhua News Agency reported 8,000 others were injured and many victims, including primary schoolchildren, were buried under debris. A 6.9-magnitude earthquake, as measured by the U.S. Geological Survey, struck at 7:49 a.m. local time (7:49 p.m. ET Tuesday), when people were probably still at home and schools were beginning the day. The USGS also recorded several strong aftershocks -- one of magnitude 5.8 -- all within hours of the initial quake. Xinhua reported panic on the streets as crews launched rescue efforts in the rubble of collapsed buildings. Are you there? Send your photos, video, stories "We have to mainly rely on our hands to clear away the debris as we have no large excavating machines," police officer Shi Huajie told the Xinhua News Agency. "We have no medical equipment, either." A Chinese military official told Xinhua that the death toll was expected to rise, given the damage to homes. He said dispatched soldiers were setting up tents and transporting oxygen for the injured but affected roads leading to the airport could hamper relief efforts. World's biggest earthquakes since 1990 The Ministry of Civil Affairs plans to distribute 5,000 tents, 50,000 coats and 50,000 quilts to the earthquake zone, Xinhua said. The epicenter was located in remote and rugged terrain, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of Qamdo, Tibet. Qinghai borders the autonomous regions of Tibet and Xingjiang and the provinces of Gansu and Sichuan. Given the landscape, rescue efforts are sure to be "challenging," said Francis Markus, of the International Federation of the Red Cross. He spoke with CNN from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, which experienced its own tragedy in May, 2008, when a magnitude-7.9 earthquake killed roughly 70,000 people.

Channel: News

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