This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/chinese-earthquake-death-toll-set-to-rise-9645560.html

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Chinese earthquake death toll set to rise Rescuers dig for survivors in Chinese earthquake as 2,500 soldiers join search
(about 2 hours later)
Rescuers are digging through shattered homes looking for survivors of an earthquake in southern China's Yunnan province that has killed at least 381 people and injured more than 1,800. Rescuers are digging through the rubble of broken homes in the desperate search for survivors in south west China, after a major earthquake killed at least 381 people and injured over 1,800 in a single day.
About 12,000 mostly brick homes collapsed when the quake struck in impoverished Ludian county, about 230 miles north east of Yunnan's capital Kunming, and the death toll is expected to rise. Chinese rescue efforts have seen the government dispatch 2,500 soldiers with life-detection instruments and digging equipment to the province of Yunnan, where a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit the region on Sunday.
The streets of Zhaotong were like a "battlefield after a bombardment", Ma Liya told Xinhua News Agency. She said her neighbour's house, a new two-storey building, had toppled and the quake was far worse than one that struck the area in 2012 and killed 81 people. The troops will join more than 300 police and fire fighters already in the area who have travelled from Zhaotong, and 400 emergency workers and sniffer dogs from across the Yunnan province trying to find survivors.
"I have never felt such strong tremors before. All I can see are ruins," she said. "The aftermath is much, much worse than what happened after the quake two years ago." But aid efforts have been held back by unrelenting rain and persisting landslides that have left many roads unusable, the BBC reports, with rescuers forced to travel on foot as the government attempts to deliver 2,000 tents, 3,000 folding beds and as many quilts and coats to those in the disaster zone.
The magnitude-6.1 quake struck at 4.30pm local time at a depth of six miles, according to the US Geological Survey. Its epicentre was in Ludian county township of Longtoushan. China's earthquake monitoring agency put the magnitude at 6.5. Temporary medical facilities have been set up in tents to treat the hundreds of survivors, with paramilitary policemen helping to carry injured children and the elderly to safety.
Rain and thunderstorms were forecast for the area in the coming hours, complicating efforts to bring tents, water food and other relief supplies to survivors. Roads had caved in, and rescuers were forced to travel on foot. Images of the aftermath of the disaster in Ludian county show the extent of the devastation; streets are shown paved in broken and splintered pieces of buildings, while parked cars have been completely crushed on the roadside, and children sit covered in bandages in hospital corridors.
Xinhua and state broadcaster CCTV said 381 people were killed. CCTV said 1,891 were injured, three were missing and 29,400 had been evacuated. The death toll is expected to rise once rescuers reach remote communities to assess casualties. “All the houses had already collapsed when we arrived. Dead bodies were everywhere and there were a lot of injured people,” Chen Wangchang, head of Ludian County hospital in Yunnan’s Zhaotong City, told the BBC.
Many of the homes that collapsed in Ludian, which has a population of about 429,000, were old and made of brick, Xinhua said, adding that electricity and telecommunications were cut off in the county. President Xi Jinping has called for “all-out efforts” to find survivors and China’s Premier Li Keqiang is making his way to the area. State broadcaster CCTV said 29,400 people had been evacuated from the region, but the death toll is expected to continue to rise.
The mountainous region where the quake occurred is largely agricultural, with farming and mining the top industries, and is prone to earthquakes. Around 12,000 mostly brick homes are thought to have been reduced rubble in the quake, with around 30,000 damaged.
Relief efforts were under way, with more than 2,500 troops dispatched to the disaster region. The quake is thought to be the worst to have hit the region in 14 years. Ma Liya, a local resident, told the Chinese state news agency Xinhua that the streets of Zhaotong were like a “battlefield after a bombardment”.
The Red Cross Society of China allocated quilts, jackets and tents for those made homeless by the quake, while Red Cross branches in Hong Kong, Macau and neighboring Sichuan province also sent relief supplies. The Red Cross Society of China has sent aid for those made homeless by the disaster, while Red Cross branches in Hong Kong, Macau and neighbouring Sichuan province have also sent relief supplies.
Premier Li Keqiang was heading to Yunnan to oversee the quake relief, Xinhua said. The US Geological Survey measured the earthquake as 6.1 magnitude, while China’s earthquake monitoring agency said the magnitude was recorded at 6.5.  The area is prone to earthquakes; in 2008 the Sichuan province suffered an earthquake that left nearly 90,000 people dead or missing and more than 16,000 people were killed in two more earthquakes in the 1970s.  
United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon offered "his condolences to the Chinese government and the families of those killed".United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon offered "his condolences to the Chinese government and the families of those killed".
The UN was ready to "lend its assistance to efforts to respond to humanitarian needs" and "to mobilise any international support needed", he said.The UN was ready to "lend its assistance to efforts to respond to humanitarian needs" and "to mobilise any international support needed", he said.
The White House also offered its condolences. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those that lost their lives," said National Security Council deputy spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan.The White House also offered its condolences. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those that lost their lives," said National Security Council deputy spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan.
"The United States stands ready to assist.""The United States stands ready to assist."
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the quake was the strongest to hit Yunnan in 14 years. Additional reporting from Associated Press
In 1970 a magnitude-7.7 earthquake in Yunnan killed at least 15,000 people, and a magnitude-7.1 quake in the province killed more than 1,400 in 1974. In September 2012, 81 people died and 821 were injured in a series of quakes in the Yunnan region.
In May 2008 a powerful quake in Sichuan province left nearly 90,000 people dead or missing.
AP