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Quake Kills Dozens in China, and Hundreds Are Injured Quake Kills Scores in China, and Thousands Are Injured
(about 3 hours later)
BEIJING – A powerful earthquake struck China’s western region of Sichuan province Saturday, killing at least 72 people, injuring hundreds of others, and leaving unknown numbers of people trapped, according to initial estimates by government authorities. BEIJING — A powerful earthquake rocked China’s southwestern Sichuan province Saturday morning, killing at least 100 people, injuring more than 2,000 and leaving unknown numbers of people trapped, according to the state media.
The earthquake, which struck at 8 a.m. local time, occurred in the same province where a quake five years ago killed 70,000 people and left 18,000 missing. Saturday’s quake was centered in the city of Ya’an in Lushan county, a mountainous area about 170 kilometers southwest from Chengdu, the provincial capital. The earthquake, which struck at 8:02 a.m. local time in Ya’an city, occurred or 53 miles from the devastating quake five years ago that left 87,000 people dead or missing in a mountainous region northeast of Chengdu, the provincial capital.
The United States Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 6.6, while Chinese media reports said it was at least 6 miles deep. The quake on Saturday occurred along the same fault line.
The state-run news agency, Xinhua, said there were “serious collapses” of homes, with many old houses in Lushan destroyed. The Sichuan news service said that an official there said many people had been trapped in the collapsed homes. In one hard-hit township, Longmen, one resident reported that 90 percent of the homes had been destroyed, suggesting the death toll could rise much higher.
The Chinese government television, CCTV, reported that President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Le Keqiang had called an emergency meeting to coordinate rescue attempts, and Mr. Le was reported headed to the scene Saturday afternoon. The local police, along with the People’s LIberation Army and other rescue teams were dispatched to the area, CCTV said, with more than 2,000 soldiers and two helicopters dispatched from the Chengdu Military Area Command, Xinhua reported. The Chengdu Evening Paper said 600 people had been injured, 135 of them seriously in Lushan county, which is part of Ya’an city. Xinhua quoted a hospital official who said scores of injured people were sprawled in front of the county hospital Saturday afternoon. Firefighters in Lushan pulled 27 survivors from collapsed buildings, Xinhua said.
The memories of the devastating earthquake in May 2008 in which poorly constructed school buildings collapsed and killed thousands of students caused extra nervousness that Saturday's quake would result in a much higher number of fatalities. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and several other senior Chinese officials from Beijing flew to Sichuan on Saturday afternoon, according to the state media. “The current most urgent issue is grasping the first 24 hours after the quake’s occurrence, the golden time for saving lives, to take scientific rescue measures and save peoples’ lives,” Xinhua quoted Mr. Li as saying.
The earthquake in 2008 prompted a massive official relief effort, and a passionate outpouring of volunteer help. But some quake-stricken residents and observers faulted the government for putting rescue efforts in the wrong places, or failing to muster the equipment needed to lift victims from under slaps of concrete and brick. Instead, many troops and rescuers clambered over the rubble with sticks and spades. This time, the government appears intent on avoiding any accusations of laggardness, even if the quake is less destructive than the one in 2008. The China Earthquake Networks Center said the quake had a magnitude of 7.0, and occurred 6 miles beneath the earth’s surface. Scientists said the quake was relatively shallow and thus more destructive.
The Sichuan news service said the People’s Armed Police had been sent to the area to help people affected by the earthquake. Soon after the earthquake, the authorities closed the airport at Chengdu, a major hub for Western China, but then reopened it hours later. “Now the houses on both sides of the street have become dangerous buildings,” Zhang Linpeng told the Sichuan news service. “I’ve seen people trapped in the ruins, and some people died. Many of the injured have been pulled out.”
As of midday, the area continued to experience aftershocks, which were also felt in Chengdu, the provincial capital. 29 of the known dead were in Lushan County, with 6 in Baoxing County. Xinhua reported thats the worst damage is in two towns in Lushan County: Shuangshi Town and Longmen Township, both of which suffered serious building collapses and cut roads. Rescue efforts were hampered by landslides and officials expressed concern over two barrier lakes that had formed after landslides had blocked two waterways.
One resident of Longmen Township in the earthquake-stricken area described a chaotic scene. Xinhua said one soldier was killed and seven injured after the truck they were riding in plunged into a river. Photos taken on the highway to Ya’an showed an enormous boulder blocking the way.
“Now the houses on both sides of the street have become dangerous buildings.” Zhang Linpeng told the Sichuan news service. “I’ve seen people trapped in the ruins, and some people died. Many of the injured have been pulled out.” According to the state media, more than 6,000 soldiers and armed police and two helicopters had been dispatched to the quake zone. Authorities also sent another 1,400 provincial rescue workers, 180 doctors from a national emergency response team, 120 “professional rescue vehicles” and six search-and-rescue dogs. As a precaution, 80,000 inmates were evacuated from prisons in affected area.
The quake was powerful enough to be felt in at least 200 miles away in Chongqing. After the quake was felt there, people raced down the stairwells of apartment buildings to get outside. Ya’an, which sits on a basin on the edge of the Tibetan plateau, is about 75 miles, from Chengdu. The city, which includes Lushan county, has a population of 1.5 million.

Jane Perlez reported from Beijing, and Chris Buckley from Hong Kong. Andrew Jacobs contributed from Beijing.

Scientists say the quake occurred along a seismically active fault line, known as Longmenshan, that runs between the Tibetan plateau and Sichuan Basin. Jiang Haikun, an official with the China Earthquake Administration, said 12 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.0 or greater have occurred along the Longmenshan fault line since 1900.
The quake struck almost exactly five years since the calamitous Wenchuan quake, a disaster that raised questions about poorly constructed school buildings that collapsed and killed thousands of students.
That earthquake prompted a massive official relief effort, and a passionate outpouring of volunteer help. But some quake-stricken residents and observers faulted the government for dispatching rescue efforts to the wrong places, or failing to muster the equipment needed to lift victims from under slaps of concrete and brick. Instead, many troops and rescuers clambered over the rubble with sticks and spades.
This time, the government appears intent on avoiding any accusations of laggardness, even if the quake was less destructive than the one in 2008. In one notable gesture, CCTV, the state broadcaster, posted photographs online of Mr. Li and other senior leaders sitting on a plane bound for Sichuan. State media also said that Mr. Li and Chinese President Xi Jinping had convened an emergency meeting earlier in the day to coordinate rescue efforts.
In contrast to the earthquake in 2008, when officials restricted independent reporting on the disaster, Ran Wang, a businessman, said he hoped officials would allow greater transparency. “No censorship, no cover ups or control so the right of the people and society to be informed during natural disasters are respected,” he wrote on his microblog account.
The quake was powerful enough to be felt hundreds of miles away in Yunnan, Gansu and Shaanxi Provinces. In Chongqing, 200 miles away from the epicenter, residents raced down the stairwells of apartment buildings and stood in the streets in their undergarments.
As of midday, the number of aftershocks exceeded 200, with 15 of them greater than a magnitude of 4.0.

Chris Buckley contributed reporting from Hong Kong.