The Hindu : Quake hits southwest China

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2003

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International - Globescan

Quake hits southwest China

Emergency workers inspect the blast site at Hotel Bahia following an explosion in Alicante on Spain's eastern Mediterranean coast on Tuesday. Two bombs tore through hotels in the Spanish coastal resorts of Benidorm and Alicante on Tuesday, injuring several people, after the Basque separatist group ETA warned of attacks, officials said. — Reuters

BEIJING: A strong earthquake hit a mountainous area in China's southwest, causing thousands of mud-brick houses to collapse while people slept inside, officials and state media reported on Tuesday. Officials said that an early death toll of 15 would rise. More than 300 people also were injured by the quake that struck Dayao county in Yunnan province at 11:16 p.m. (1516 GMT) on Monday, the official China News Service said. Most people were asleep in their homes when the magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck, said an official reached by phone in the county government offices. A quake of magnitude 6 can cause severe damage in populated areas. ``The death toll will definitely rise, though we can't tell how significant it will be,'' said the official, who would give only his surname, Chen. The quake was centered near the town of Tanhua, the Xinhua News Agency said. The remote area, about 2,200 km southwest of Beijing, suffers frequent earthquakes.

State television said 5,000 earthen houses collapsed, as well as 18 schools and 68 government buildings. — AP

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