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Earthquake kills scores of people in southern China Earthquake kills hundreds of people in south-west China
(about 3 hours later)
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake in southern China has killed at least 150 people and destroyed thousands of homes. More than 220 people have died and at least 1,400 were injured when an earthquake struck south-west China on Sunday, toppling homes and sending residents fleeing into the streets, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
The quake struck Yunnan province at 4.30pm local time on Sunday, according to the US Geological Survey. Its epicentre was in Longtoushan township, Ludian county, 14 miles (23km) south-west of the city of Zhaotong. A further 181 are missing after the 6.1-magnitude quake hit Ludian county, in a mountainous area about 225 miles (360km) north-east of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, state news agency Xinhua reported. State media said the tremor was felt in the neighbouring provinces of Guizhou and Sichuan.
The Chinese state news agency Xinhua said at least 150 people were killed. Photographs showed rescuers digging through rubble and rushing the injured to hospital. But teams were still trying to reach some of the remoter areas such as Longtoushan township, the epicentre of the quake.
Ma Liya, a resident of Zhaotong, told Xinhua that the streets there were like "battlefield after bombardment", adding that her neighbour's house, a new two-story building, had collapsed. One resident there, who gave his surname as He, said the quake was "very scary", adding: "All houses in the town have been damaged by the earthquake, and at least two thirds of them so badly damaged that they could not be used anymore.
At least 120 people were killed and a further 1,300 injured in the densely populated Ludian county, said Yunnan's information bureau, adding that a further 180 people were missing. Another 24 people died and more than 100 were injured in Qiaojia county. "Every few minutes there are people being carried away from the rubble."
Xinhua said about 12,000 homes collapsed in Ludian. He, from Longquan village, said most of the rescue work was being done by residents as outside teams had yet to reach them. The road was blocked and some mobile communications were down, added He, who works for a telecoms firm.
Chen Guoyong, the head of Longtoushan township, told the news agency that many houses there had collapsed. Ma Liya , who lives in Zhaotong, about 14 miles from Longtoushan, told Xinhua that the streets there were like a "battlefield after bombardment. The aftermath is much worse than what happened after the quake two years ago. I have never felt such strong tremors before. What I can see are all ruins."
Photographs on the Chinese social media site Weibo showed several people apparently injured amid the rubble. In September 2012, quakes in the region claimed 81 lives and injured 821.
The state broadcaster CCTV said the quake was the strongest to hit Yunnan in 14 years. It reported that a rockslide had blocked a road near Zhaotong and broadcast an image of a car apparently damaged by debris caused by the quake. The owner of a restaurant 19 miles away Longtoushan, who gave her name as Ms Zhang, added: "I was on a hillside when the earthquake happened. The ground below me was shaking and I was scared to death.
In 1970, at least 15,000 people were killed by a 7.7-magnitude quake in Yunnan. Four years later a 7.1-magnitude quake in the province claimed the lives of more than 1,400 people. In September 2012, 81 people died and 821 were injured in a series of quakes in the region. "I heard that many people had died in Longtoushan and lots of houses collapsed. Our house is an old one. Though it has not collapsed, there are cracks on the wall."
The quake struck at 4.30pm local time at a depth of 6.2 miles, according to the US Geological Survey.
Video shown by state broadcaster CCTV showed people rushing into the street as buildings shook. But one hotel employee in Zhaotong said: "I was inside when the building started shaking. I was so scared I didn't dare to run outside."
An official at the health bureau said more than 20 medics from Zhaotong had already arrived and were working with local doctors to treat the injured, adding that more doctors and nurses from Kunming and counties around Ludian were on their way.
A person who answered the phone at the People's Hospital building, which was not damaged by the quake, said it was treating 116 of the injured, most of whom had only minor injuries. Those critically injured had been transferred to Zhaotong People's Hospital, she added.
The Sina news portal reported that a volunteer who had reached Longtoushan said the quake victims were being placed in a local square, and many of the injured evacuated to hospitals.
Xinhua said that at least 122 people had died in Ludian, and another 1,300 people there were injured, while in Qiaojia county, 49 were dead, one missing and 102 injured.
Electricity supplies were cut in some areas and at least one school collapsed, Xinhua added.
It said 2,500 troops had been dispatched to the disaster zone, in addition to 300 police and firefighters from Zhaotong. Yunnan's fire department posted on its microblog that it was sending 82 vehicles, 445 people and 12 rescue dogs to the disaster zone.
Heavy rain is forecast throughout the coming week. Xinhua said the government was sending 2,000 tents, 3,000 folding beds, 3,000 quilts and 3,000 coats.
CCTV said the quake was the strongest to hit Yunnan in 14 years. The province has been plagued by deadly earthquakes in the past. In 1970, a 7.7-magnitude quake killed at least 15,000 people. Four years later, a 7.1-magnitude quake killed more than 1,400.
China's deadliest earthquake in recent decades hit Wenchuan, Sichuan, in May 2008, leaving almost 90,000 people dead or missing.