More than 100 people killed in earthquake in northwest China

The shallow 6.2 magnitude quake struck during the night near the border of Gansu and Qinghai provinces, sending people rushing out onto the street.

More than 100 people have been killed after an earthquake hit northwestern China while many people were asleep.

The earthquake, measured at 6.2 according to state news agency Xinhua, struck in Gansu Province near the border with Qinghai, causing significant damage, state media reported on Tuesday.

Residents rushed out onto the street as buildings collapsed and dozens of people were injured, the state broadcaster CCTV said, citing the provincial earthquake relief headquarters.

According to CCTV, at least 100 people were killed in Gansu and 11 people in the city of Haidong in Qinghai. Haidong is situated close to the epicentre about 100km (60 miles) southwest of Gansu Province’s capital, Lanzhou.

Rescue work was under way with Chinese President Xi Jinping calling for “all-out efforts” in the search and relief work.

Power and water supplies were disrupted in some villages, Xinhua said.

The US Geological Survey reported the quake was a magnitude 5.9, while the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said it was a magnitude 6.1.

The earthquake struck at a depth of 10km (6 miles) at 11:59 pm local time on Monday (15:59 GMT), according to the USGS, which initially reported the magnitude at 6.0.

Gansu has a population of about 26 million people and includes part of the Gobi Desert.

Earthquakes are not uncommon in China.

In September 2022, a 6.6-magnitude quake hit Sichuan Province leaving almost 100 dead.

A 7.9-magnitude quake in Sichuan in 2008 left more than 87,000 people dead or missing, including 5,335 children who were in school at the time it happened.

At least 242,000 people were killed in 1976 after an earthquake struck Tangshan in the worst natural disaster in Chinese history.