Aftershock: Rescuers checking houses damaged in the 6.1-magnitude earthquake in Yaan, in China’s southwestern Sichuan province. — AFP
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, according to the city’s earthquake relief headquarters.
All of the dead and injured were in Baoxing county in Sichuan province.
Those killed were hit by falling rocks, the earthquake relief headquarters in Ya’an city 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, it said.
The quake struck at a depth of 17km in Ya’an, about 110km southwest of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, the China Earthquake Network Centre said.
A magnitude 4.5 quake followed three minutes later, reported Xinhua.
The Sichuan fire department said some houses were damaged and more than 1,400 rescuers were headed to the area.
The Southwest Railway Authority said some sections of track were closed, causing delays to passenger trains.
China’s deadliest earthquake in recent years was a 7.9 magnitude quake in 2008 that killed nearly 90,000 people in Sichuan. — Agencies
