At Least 260 Killed in Xinjiang Earthquake

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, February 25, 2003

At Least 260 Killed in Xinjiang Earthquake

A devastating earthquake hit Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Monday morning, killing at least 260 people, injuring more than 2,000 and flattening more than 8,000 buildings.

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A devastating earthquake hit Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Monday morning, killing at least 260 people, injuring more than 2,000 and flattening more than 8,000 buildings.

Officials said it was difficult to give precise figures for the number of injured since the tally was continuing to rise.

"Damages are still being calculated and the death toll could still increase, making it difficult to provide an accurate estimate at this time,'' said Zhang Yong, a disaster prevention official with the Xinjiang Seismology Bureau.

Police and the military forces have rushed to the area to carry out rescue efforts. Relief materials are also on the way.

The regional government has established an emergency base headed by Wang Jinxiang, vice-chairman of the region's government, to provide relief to the quake-stricken area, about 2,900 kilometres west of Beijing.

The powerful earthquake rocked the dry western desert region bordering Central Asian states at 10:03 am, according to the State Seismological Bureau.

The epicentre was in sparsely populated Jiashi County, but witnesses and officials said Bachu County southeast of there and its 370,000 residents suffered more devastation.

Many of the victims were students at a Bachu county school that collapsed, and the quake also leveled a one-storey clinic, according to a county civil affairs official.

Several other places in the region, including Jiashi County, Kashi City, Bachu County, Artux County and Markit County also experienced strong tremors.

The earthquake is the most serious since 1949 in the quake-prone region, where nearly 20 earthquakes have been recorded in the past few years.

China's worst earthquake since 1949 struck Tangshan, North China's Hebei Province, in 1976, killing more than 240,000 people.

Earthquakes are common in China.

Xinjiang accounts for about one-eighth of China's territory but is sparsely populated with about 20 million people living in the region.

Chiense leaders expressed their condolences Monday to the relatives of victims killed by the massive earthquake.

They urged relief workers to make every effort to ensure nobody in disaster-hit areas suffer from coldness and hunger.

The messages were sent by Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Communist Party of China, Premier Zhu Rongji and Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao.

Wen also issued written instructions on the disaster relief operations, urging basic necessities should reach those affected within 24 hours.

A number of officials from the central and regional governments have flown to the disaster area to direct the rescue work.

Officials in the regional capital Urumqi are busy sending large shipments of grain, milk, blankets and other relief supplies to the deadly-hit Bachu County, where temperatures were hovering only a few degrees above freezing.

The Red Cross Society of China has sent immediate relief of 250,000 yuan (US$30,200) to Xinjiang and the local Red Cross Society has sent 200,000 yuan (US$24,200) worth of cotton-padded quilts and clothes to the disaster area.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs has dispatched a special team headed by Vice-Minister Yang Yanyin to acquire first-hand information of the situation.

A civil affairs official said the ministry was keeping a close eye on the latest developments and more disaster-relief materials to be allocated and dispatched.

He said more reports detailing the specific needs of people affected would be issued as a reference for mobilizing charitable aid around the country.

The visiting United State's Secretary Colin Powell offered his condolences to Chinese President Jiang Zemin Monday in Beijing.

The Foreign Ministry of Greece also announced Monday that its government would offer humanitarian assistance to the afflicted areas, an amount of 200,000 euro (US$215,000).

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