26 dead, 79 injured in southwest China quake - state TV

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26 dead, 79 injured in southwest China quake - state TV

Published time: August 03, 2014 11:42 
Edited time: August 03, 2014 12:22

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Rescuers carry an injuried child on a stretcher after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit the area in Ludian county in Zhaotong, southwest China's Yunnan province on August 3, 2014.(AFP Photo / China Out)

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At least 26 people were killed and 79 injured after an earthquake measuring from 6.1 to 6.5, according to different estimates, hit western China.

The US Geological Survey has estimated the quake at 6.1 on the Richter scale, while previously reporting the strikes measuring 6.3. At the same time, the China Earthquake Networks Center said the magnitude of the quake was 6.5.

The quake struck 11 kilometers west-northwest of the town of Wenping at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers, according to USGS. Chinese state television said the epicenter of the quake was in Yunnan province's Ludian county.

The quake toppled and cracked apart buildings, forcing people to rush into the streets, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported. The administration of the affected Yunnan province sent a 30-member team to the quake's epicenter.

Yunnan’s seismological bureau has said that the earthquake is the strongest that has hit the province in 18 years, independent website Earth-Quake Report said. Yunnan is one of the most earthquake-sensitive provinces in China.

Local media is reporting that a school was reduced to rubble, among other buildings that were destroyed by the earthquake.

Chinese state media said tremors were felt in Yunnan’s neighboring provinces of Guizhou and Sichuan.

Broken tiles sit scattered on the ground after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit the area in Ludian county in Zhaotong, southwest China's Yunnan province on August 3, 2014.(AFP Photo / China Out)