Death Toll from Sichuan Province Earthquake in China Rises to 66... 15 Missing

Road Cut Off and Communications Severed... Rescue Operations Also Hampered

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The death toll from the magnitude 6.8 earthquake that occurred on the 5th in Sichuan Province, China, has risen to 66.

On the 6th, China Central Television (CCTV) reported that 66 people died and 15 went missing due to the earthquake. There are 235 injured. About 200 people are trapped in the epicenter, Hailuogou Glacier Forest Park, where landslides have cut off roads connecting to the outside.

The Sichuan authorities dispatched a rescue team of 6,500 personnel to the site, but communication has been cut off and roads are blocked, making rescue operations difficult. Therefore, concerns are rising that the number of casualties may increase further.

In Luding County alone, 249 buildings including houses collapsed. With 13,500 houses damaged, the number of displaced people reached 11,000. Thousands of households lost communication and electricity. It was also reported that seven hydroelectric power plants were damaged.

As the waterway of the Wandong River, which has a basin area of 1.66 million km², was blocked and the water level rose, local authorities urgently evacuated 50,000 downstream residents fearing floods.

Earlier, at 12:52 PM the previous day, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake occurred in Luding County, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. Four minutes later, a magnitude 4.2 earthquake followed in Smen County, Ya'an City nearby. By the morning of that day, there were ten aftershocks of magnitude 3.0 or higher.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.