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Death toll from earthquake in China rises to 116

It was reported earlier that 230 people were injured

© EPA-EFE/XINHUA/Zhang Hongxiang

BEIJING, December 19. /TASS/. At least 116 people died in the Chinese provinces of Gansu and Qinghai as a result of the earthquake, according to China Central Television.

The death toll in Gansu has now risen to 105, with another 186 injured and 11 people dead in Qinghai. It was reported earlier that 230 people were injured.

Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered that every effort be made to search and rescue people, as well as eliminate the consequences of the earthquake in Gansu, the TV channel reported.

Earlier China Central Television reported at least 97 people were killed and 236 injured in the Chinese provinces of Gansu and Qinghai as a result of the earthquak. In northwestern Gansu, 86 people were killed and 96 injured; in Qinghai province, west of Gansu, 11 people were killed and 140 injured.

Xinhua news agency reported that at least 86 people died in a powerful earthquake in Jishishan Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County, Gansu Province in northwestern China.

Houses, roads and other infrastructure were damaged in the epicenter of the earthquake and surrounding areas, and power and water supplies were disrupted.

A series of tremors with of up to 6.2 in magnitude were recorded at midnight Beijing time (19:00 Moscow time), with the depth of 10 km.

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