According to reports in the local media on Tuesday, the powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the Chinese province of Sichuan on Monday has so far resulted in 65 fatalities, 248 injuries, and 12 missing persons.
Ten aftershocks of 3.0 magnitude or higher have been detected, including one earthquake with a magnitude between 4.0 and 4.9, nine earthquakes with a magnitude between 3.0 and 3.9, and the greatest aftershocks to date with a magnitude of 4.2, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. As of 7:00 am on Tuesday, there have been 65 fatalities; 37 of them are in the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, which includes Luding county, and 28 are in Ya’an city. Additionally, more than 50,000 people have moved.
According to Ministry of Transportation, 336 construction workers and 20 managers make up the over 350 persons who are stuck on the Luding-Shimian Expressway.
Over 700 unique channels were made available for disaster assistance through expressway tollbooths. Oil goods, food supplies, and other emergency supplies have been fully supplied at all service points along the Chengdu-Luding Expressway.
In order to assist with the transportation of the injured, road dredging, victim search, and other rescue efforts, more than 1,900 officers, armed police, and soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army PLA Western Theater Command rushed to the earthquake-hit area and arrived at the epicentre area at 8 am on Tuesday.
The province lost electricity as a result of the earthquake, however State Grid Sichuan Electric Power Company said that following an overnight emergency repair, power had been restored to approximately 22,000 families in the affected area.
