More than 367 people died and nearly 2,000 were injured when a strong earthquake hit southwest China´s mountainous Yunnan province yesterday, reducing structures to rubble and sparking a massive relief operation.The massive temblor in Zhaotong prefecture, in the province´s northeast, toppled buildings “At least 367 people have been killed and 1,881 people were injured,” the official news agency Xinhua reported early today, citing rescuers.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported the quake at a magnitude of 6.1 and said it struck at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometres (six miles) at 4:30 pm (0830 GMT).
“Too many buildings were damaged and we are collecting data on deaths and injuries,” Xinhua quoted local official Chen Guoyong as saying in the township of Longtoushan, which sits at the epicentre.
