An earthquake measuring 6.
A n earthquake measuring 6.5 in magnitude struck a remote and mountainous part of the southwestern province of Sichuan on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, killing five people and trapping 100 tourists in a popular scenic spot.
The quake hit a sparsely populated area 200 km (120 miles) west-northwest of the city of Guangyuan at a depth of 10 km (6 miles) , the USGS said. It had earlier put the quake at magnitude 6.6 and 32 km deep.
The Sichuan earthquake administration said the epicentre of the tremor was in Ngawa prefecture, largely populated by ethnic Tibetans, many of whom are nomadic herders. It was also close to the Jiuzhaigou nature reserve, a popular tourist destination.
T he Sichuan government said five people had been killed and more than 60 were injured, 30 of them seriously. The official People’s Daily said the dead were all tourists.
Sichuan’s government added that 100 tourists had been trapped by a landslide, but that there were no reports of any deaths or injuries amongst them yet.
Sichuan government spokesman Chen Weide said it was unclear at present what had happened to them and whether they had been buried or were just trapped by a blocked road.
