TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The number of casualties of a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit China's Sichuan province has reached 20 people as of Friday. The quake has also injured 431 people, 18 of them suffered fatal injuries.
Authorities are still trying to rescue victims from the famous tourist areas. Some 60,000 tourists and immigrant workers have been evacuated from the quake center on Wednesday afternoon.
"The evacuation is quick and efficient," Liu Zuoming, director of the disaster relief headquarters, told The Star on August 11.
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The quake struck the Jiuzhaigou on Tuesday morning, August 8, in the autonomy prefectures of Aba Tibet and Qiang at a depth of 20 kilometers. More than 1,000 aftershocks with 4.6 magnitudes on the Richter scale continued to hit the area on Wednesday night.
President Xi Jinping called for an all-out effort to quickly organize aid and rescue measures. Xi said authorities must also examine the impact of the quake, evacuate and rescue visitors as well as local residents.
Most of the wounded were admitted to local hospitals, while some who are severely injured were transferred to hospitals in Mianyang and the provincial capital of Chengdu.
Some 500 medical personnel from across the province have been sent to the area to provide emergency care to victims. No buildings collapsed in the quake, but about 1,680 houses were damaged.
THE STAR | REUTERS | YON DEMA
