A 6.2-magnitude earthquake that struck the northwestern province of Gansu on Monday night has left 105 people dead and 397 injured in the province, local authorities said at a press conference on Tuesday morning.
An earlier conference said 11 people died in neighbouring Qinghai province.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has asked authorities on Tuesday morning to “make every effort” to treat the injured, repair infrastructure and resettle affected residents.
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The quake’s epicentre is in Jishishan county, an autonomous ethnic minority county with a population of nearly 240,000.
The quake caused houses to collapse in the area and damaged utility infrastructure.
The Ministry of Transport, which monitors the operation of roads, said on Tuesday morning that a bridge across the Yellow River had cracked because of the quake.
China’s top healthcare authority, the National Health Commission, has sent medical experts from top hospitals to the disaster area to provide support, state broadcaster CCTV said on Tuesday morning.
Gansu province’s top two officials – provincial party secretary Hu Changsheng and governor Ren Zhenhe – also headed to the disaster area early on Tuesday.
The Hong Kong government said it has not received any request for help from Hongkongers in Gansu by Tuesday morning and said it would discuss with mainland authorities whether to send rescue teams to aid the mission.
“We will pay close attention to the situation and contact local rescue organisations to apply for our Disaster Relief Fund to provide appropriate assistance to our compatriots in need. As it is winter time, it is very cold in Gansu so rescue efforts cannot be delayed,” Acting Chief Executive Eric Chan Kwok-ki told a press briefing on Tuesday.
Additional reporting by Lo Hoi-ying
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