Members of a medical rescue team prepare to set out in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province, June 1, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
BEIJING / CHENGDU – Four people have been confirmed dead and 41 others injured after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake jolted the city of Ya'an in southwest China's Sichuan province on Wednesday afternoon, according to the city's earthquake relief headquarters on Thursday.
The earthquake rattled Lushan county of Ya'an City at 5:00 pm Wednesday (Beijing Time). The epicenter, with a depth of 17 km, was monitored at 30.37 degrees north latitude and 102.94 degrees east longitude, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.
The earthquake was followed by a 4.5-magnitude quake at 5:03 pm in Baoxing county, also in Ya'an.
The headquarters said in a press briefing that the four people who died were hit by falling rocks.
The earthquake rattled Lushan county of Ya'an City at 5:00 pm Wednesday (Beijing Time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center
As of 9 am Thursday, 34 casualties were reported in Baoxing County and 11 injuries in Lushan County, the headquarters said.
The injured have been sent to hospital for treatment. One of them is in critical condition, the two that were seriously injured are now in stable condition, and the other 38 that suffered minor injuries are in no immediate danger.
A total of 13,081 people in Ya'an have been affected by the earthquake, the headquarters said.
A work team has been dispatched to guide and assist the local emergency rescue efforts, the Ministry of Emergency Management said.
Local firefighters have reached the epicenter, while quake rescue teams of Sichuan and other neighboring regions are on standby for relief operations, the ministry added.
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Rescue operations are being carried out in an orderly manner, according to the CENC.
Members of a medical rescue team prepare to set out in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan province, June 1, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
"The cabinets toppled over and we were terrified," said Xu Shuhua, a 70-year-old resident in Baoxing. The family of four lived in a high-rise apartment and the building shook heavily during the earthquake. After running out of the building, they were guided to a temporary shelter in the county stadium, about 10 minutes' walk away.
Four people had been confirmed dead and 14 others injured as of 7:40 pm Wednesday, all reported in Baoxing County, according to the city's earthquake relief headquarters
About 300 people had been relocated to the stadium by midnight Wednesday. Volunteers and rescue workers were handing out life support and epidemic prevention necessities to the victims.
"We have water, food and quilts, so we won't go cold and hungry at night," said Xu.
Several such shelters have been established in Baoshan and Lushan, with priority given to the elderly, women, children and students.
Telecommunication in parts of the two counties was damaged due to the quake, but some optical cables have been restored after emergency repairs.
Ya'an has activated the second-highest level of emergency response for the earthquake and is conducting damage assessments.
More than 4,500 people from emergency rescue, the armed police, the fire department, the medical sector and other departments were dispatched to the earthquake-hit areas to search for and rescue the injured, repair roads and relocate affected residents.
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The provincial earthquake administration said that the 6.1-magnitude earthquake of Lushan was an aftershock of a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit the county in 2013.