After a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Luxian County in Luzhou City in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, three persons were confirmed killed and 60 others were sent to the hospital.
According to the city’s emergency management bureau, three of those hospitalized were critically injured.
The earthquake struck at 4:33 a.m., according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. At 29.2 degrees north latitude and 105.34 degrees east longitude, the epicenter was detected. The tremor occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers.
Approved by the provincial government, the earthquake relief headquarters of Sichuan has activated a level-II response, the second highest in China’s four-tier earthquake emergency response system.
After the quake, Luzhou City has launched a level-I emergency response and nearly 3,000 people have been mobilized for rescue. Tents have been set up for the residents’ temporary evacuation in a village of the county’s Fuji Township.
The Luzhou high-speed railway station has been closed, according to railway authorities.
All coal mines have been ordered to halt underground operations and evacuate miners in shafts.
Zhang Zhiwei, deputy head of the Sichuan earthquake administration, said the quake, unlike the devastating Wenchuan Earthquake and Lushan Earthquake in the province, happened in the fracture zone of Huaying Mountain.
An expert analysis concluded that a more serious earthquake is unlikely in the area, but aftershocks may occur.
