Death toll in NW China earthquakes rises to eight

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, October 26, 2003

Death toll in NW China earthquakes rises to eight

The death toll in the two strong earthquakes that hit northwest China Saturday night rose to eight as of 10 a.m. Sunday morning. The tremors, measuring 6.1 degrees and 5.8 degrees on the Richter scale, jolted areas between Minle and Shandan counties of Zhangye City in Gansu at 20:41 and 20:48 Saturday.

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Earthquakes hit NW China's Gansu

The death toll in the two strong earthquakes that hit northwest China Saturday night rose to eight as of 10 a.m. Sunday morning, as bodies of four people, who had been missing and were believed buried in rubbles of collapsed buildings, have been found, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said.

More than 29 others were wounded in the earthquakes that struck two counties in the far northwestern province of Gansu, according to the ministry.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice Premier Hui Liangyu have instructed the ministry to respond in a quick and full manner.

The ministry said over 10,000 residential rooms collapsed, and it has sent 2,000 cotton-padded tents for victims in the quake-hit regions where night temperatures would drop below zero Celsius degree.

Earthquakes hit NW China

Li Xueju, Civil Affair Minister, has ordered a rescue work group, led by Yan Zhizhuang, deputy director of the ministry's disaster relief center, to organize rescue operation in the quake-hit regions.

Relief materials will be immediately shipped to help local people, according to the ministry.

The tremors, measuring 6.1 degrees and 5.8 degrees on the Richter scale, jolted areas between Minle and Shandan counties of Zhangye City in Gansu at 20:41 and 20:48 Saturday. According to the Chinese seismological monitoring network, the epicenters of the quakes are located at 38.4 degrees north latitude, 101.2 degrees east longitude, and 38.4 degrees north latitude and 101.1 degrees east longitude.

Sources from the Gansu provincial seismological bureau said that 30 percent of the houses in the epicenters have been severely damaged.

The temperature in the earthquake-shaken areas was five to six degrees below zero. It snowed a few days ago.

The epicenters are about 500 kilometers northwest to Lanzhou, capital of Gansu.

The Gansu provincial government and the State Seismological Bureau have jointly sent a task force to the quake-torn area Sunday morning.

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