Breaking News | CHINA Earthquake | 56 Killed 600 Injured

China Earthquake: Dozens Killed, 600 Injured An earthquake strikes Sichuan province leaving dozens of people dead and hundreds injured, Chinese media says At least 56 people have died and over 600 injured after an earthquake struck China's southwestern province of Sichuan, Chinese media says.



The quake, measured at varying magnitudes between 6.6 and 7.0, hit at 8.02am local time close to the city of Ya'an in Lushan county and the epicentre had a depth of 8 miles (13km), Xinhua reported.

It set off landslides, destroyed buildings and has triggered a major rescue operation involving 2,000 troops.

The quake was felt strongly by residents in neighbouring provinces and in the provincial capital city of Chengdu, causing many to rush outside, according to accounts on China's Weibo microblogging service.

A resident in Chengdu said he was on the 13th floor of a building when he felt the quake. The building shook for about 20 seconds and he saw tiles fall from nearby buildings.

The quake struck close to where a massive tremor occured in 2008, killing 68,000 people.

Sky's Asia Correspondent Mark Stone said: "The huge earthquake in 2008 was magnitude 7.9 and at a depth of 12 miles. This latest quake has smaller magnitude and depth, but it is still very much a concern for people in Sichuan." Local seismologists registered the quake at magnitude 7.0 while the US Geological Survey (USGS) gave it as 6.6.

USGS said that "significant" casualties were likely and that "extensive damage i

Twin tremors in neighbouring Yunnan province last September triggered landslides that left at least 80 people dead.

A magnitude-5.5 quake in Yunnan last June killed four people and injured more than 100.