Temperatures are as low as -16C in Gansu and Qinghai provinces, where the magnitude-6.2 quake struck on Monday
The death toll from China’s earthquake has risen to 131, with almost 1,000 people injured, as rescuers dig through rubble in below freezing conditions.
The magnitude-6.2 earthquake struck just before midnight on Monday, in Jishishan county near the border of Gansu and Qinghai provinces, destroying or damaging more than 150,000 homes, according to state media. The quake, which was followed by several strong aftershocks, caused mud and landslides, and damaged power lines and other local infrastructure “to varying degrees”.
On Wednesday morning authorities said the official death toll had risen to 131 in Gansu with 782 injured, and 18 dead and 198 injured in Qinghai.
Amid a days-long cold wave sweeping across most of China, the high-altitude area in China’s north-west reported temperatures as low as -16C, hampering rescue efforts.
Responders, including 1,500 firefighters, 1,500 police officers, 1,000 PLA soldiers, and about 400 medics, continued to pull people from rubble and treat the injured. Authorities said 78 people had been rescued in Gansu but 20 people were still missing from two villages in Minhe county, where a mudslide swept through, half-burying many buildings in brown silt.
