64 killed, many injured in China quake

September 07, 2012 12:25 pm | Updated June 28, 2016 05:26 pm IST - Beijing

At least 64 people were killed and more than a 700 injured in an earthquake that struck south-western China on Friday and left more than 20,000 homes damaged or collapsed.

The 5.7 magnitude quake hit the provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou on Friday morning, in south-western China. Local officials said more than 100,000 people had been evacuated as of Friday afternoon.

As of Friday night, officials said at least 64 people had been killed and 700 injured. The epicentre was in the county of Yiliang in eastern Yunnan, near the provincial border with Guizhou. All the victims were from the city of Zhaotong, officials told the State-run Xinhua news agency, adding that an initial investigation showed that more than 20,000 homes had been damaged. Xinhua reported that both provinces had sent work teams and begun an emergency response, transporting tents and quilts.

As of Friday evening, there were no casualties reported in Guizhou, though there were reports of collapsed homes, according to Chen Bo, head of the border county of Weining. As some of the counties hit were in mountainous and remote areas, officials fear the death toll could rise.

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