Five Dead in China Earthquake

A strong earthquake that hit a sparsely populated, mountainous area of western China killed at least five people and injured 54 others, including schoolchildren in a stampede, officials said Sunday.


The US Geological Survey said the magnitude-5.9 quake hit Saturday about 20 miles from the county of Kangding in Sichuan province. China’s seismological agency put the magnitude at 6.3.

The five dead included a woman in her 70s who was struck by a falling window pane, the official Xinhua news agency and state broadcaster CCTV said, citing Chen Yunbing, a doctor at the region’s Ganzi People’s hospital.


A stampede at a primary school in Tagong town during the quake injured 42 children, according to Xinhua.


A total of 30 homes collapsed and 2,630 suffered serious damage, the Sichuan information office said.