China

Quake kills thousands in southwest China: officials

Article published on the 2008-05-12 Latest update 2008-05-12 19:59 TU

Surveying the damage in Sichuan, China
(Photo: Reuters)

A huge earthquake in southwest China on Monday has left thousands dead. The shocks were felt throughout southeast Asia. The 7.8 tremor flattened buildings in the densely-populated Sichuan province. Official news agency Xinhua cited Chinese government officals who reported a total of more than 8,700 dead in the region on Monday night.

 The Chinese Red Cross in Beijing says it is sending out relief supplies to help 10,000 families in the worst-hit province of Sichuan. Spokesperson Gu Qinghui also said that the government was sending army rescue assistance teams to find survivors.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao flew to the disaster zone to inspect the damage. He told Chinese television that the situation was "worse than we previously estimated, and we need more people here to help."

Xin Hua official news agency quoted local disaster relief officials saying 3,000 to 5,000 people were estimated to have died in Beichuan County, one part of Sichuan province alone.

The quake was felt as far way as Thailand and Vietnam. Chinese officials confirmed that huge Three Gorges Dam hydro-electric project, 1,000 km from the quake's epicentre, and Olympic venues in and around Beijing have not been damaged.

Seismic experts at the Paris Institute of Earth Physics say that Monday's earthquake is linked to a shift of the Tibetan plateau to the north and east.

Earthquakes are frequent and powerful along the fringes of the Tibetan Plateau, which was raised when India collided into Eurasia, a process which began about 50 million years ago.