Earthquake leaves 12 dead in China

Shanghai: A 6.0 magnitude earthquake left 12 people dead and injured another 125 after striking southwest China's Sichuan Province Monday night, the country's Ministry of Emergency Management announced on Tuesday.

The earthquake hit Changning County of Yibin at 10:55 p.m. Monday (Beijing Time), according to local authorities cited by China's state media.

The epicentre of the quake had a depth of 16 km and was monitored at 28.34 degrees north latitude and 104.90 degrees east longitude, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

Fifty-three people were reportedly receiving treatment in two hospitals in Changning. Among them, two are in critical condition and six others are severely injured, state media confirmed.

China's Ministry of Emergency Management initiated its emergency response and sent a work team to the affected areas to provide guidance in rescue and disaster relief.

The ministry and the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration have dispatched 5,000 tents, 10,000 folding beds and 20,000 quilts to the quake-hit areas.

A team of rescuers sent by the Red Cross Society of Sichuan Province arrived in Shuanghe township of Changning at about 4 a.m. Tuesday.

The quake caused the major highway connecting Yibin and Luzhou City to close. Sections of other roads were also blocked.
In the provincial capital Chengdu, an early warning system alerted the public about one minute before the earthquake struck. The same system alerted residents in Yibin ten seconds before the quake hit, state-media reported.

Additionally, a 5.3-magnitude earthquake rattled Changning County at 7:34 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

The epicentre was monitored at 28.37 degrees north latitude and 104.89 degrees east longitude, the CENC said in an initial report.