South-west China quake: Death toll rises to 175, with 1,400 injured

 The Straits Times | August 3, 2014

At least 175 people were killed and 1,400 injured after a strong earthquake hit south-west China's mountainous Yunnan province on Sunday, bringing homes crashing to the ground and sparking a massive relief operation.

The quake in Zhaotong prefecture, in the province's north-east, toppled buildings and left rescue teams and residents to pull survivors from beneath the rubble, images on social media showed.

"At least 175 people have been killed and 181 others are missing," the official news agency Xinhua reported.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported the quake at a magnitude of 6.1 and said it struck at a relatively shallow depth of 10km at 4.30pm.

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/east-asia/story/south-west-china-quake-death-toll-rises-175-1400-injured-20140803#sthash.D3fLfGXm.dpuf