XINING, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- A 6.2-magnitude earthquake that jolted northwest China at midnight Monday has killed 21 people in Qinghai Province, local authorities said on Wednesday.
As of 4 p.m., the disaster has injured 198 people in Qinghai, while 13 others remain unaccounted for during a sand boil disaster triggered by the tremor.
The sand boil occurred in Zhongchuan Township, Haidong City, early on Tuesday morning. Some villagers who survived the quake were buried as a result of this sand boil. Xinhua reporters on the scene saw that many houses in Jintian village were toppled or buried in mud as deep as three meters.
Search and rescue efforts are underway on Wednesday night, with many rescuers digging in the mud with spades and shovels.
According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the quake jolted at 11:59 p.m. Monday and has a focal depth of 10 km. The epicenter Liugou Township is about 8 km from the county seat of the Bonan-Dongxiang-Salar Autonomous County of Jishishan in Gansu Province, which neighbors Qinghai.
By Wednesday morning, a total of 113 people were confirmed dead and 782 people were injured in Gansu. ■
