A powerful 6.9 earthquake on the Richter scale struck southwestern China on Saturday morning, killing at least 157 people and injuring thousands of others, authorities said.
The quake occurred just after 8 a.m. local time about 115 kilometers (70 miles) away from the provincial capital, Chengdu, at a depth of 12 kilometers, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were initial reports of the quake being 7.0-magnitude however has been bumped down to 6.9.
It was followed by at least eight aftershocks of magnitudes between 4.5 and 5.1, the USGS said.
The death toll has been rising steadily through the day, as of now currently stands at 157, with more than 5,7000 people injured, the China Earthquake Administration said.
China's official Xinhua news agency said that the quake jolted buildings in the provincial capital of Chengdu 115 kilometers, or 70 miles, to the east.
State media reported that thousands of emergency works, including soldiers, rushed to reach the affected zones in the hilly region. The hard-hit parts of Lushan country remain unreachable by road.
A massive earthquake stuck in the Sichuan Province in 2008 that left 90,000 people dead.
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