China earthquake: Death toll reaches 131, cold temperatures hinder rescue operation

With nearly 1,000 people injured and 131 confirmed dead, the toll from China’s earthquake is still rising as rescuers work through the rubble in below-freezing temperatures.

More than 150,000 homes were destroyed when a magnitude-6.2 earthquake struck just before midnight on Monday in Jishishan county, close to the border between Gansu and Qinghai provinces, according to state media. The earthquake resulted in mudslides and landslides, damaged power lines and other infrastructure.

Authorities reported on Wednesday morning that the official death toll had increased to 131 in Gansu and 782 injured, 18 died in Qinghai and 198 injured.

Rescue efforts were hampered by the high-altitude region in northwest China, where temperatures as low as -16C were reported during days-long cold wave that affected most of the country.

1,500 firefighters, 1,500 police officers, 1,000 PLA soldiers, and roughly 400 medics were among the responders who kept pulling people out of the rubble. Twenty people are still missing from two villages in Minhe county, where a mudslide swept through and partially buried many buildings in brown silt. Authorities reported that 78 people had been rescued in Gansu. While state media footage showed bulldozers clearing thick mud, search and rescue operations as well as efforts to resettle residents continued.

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