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124 dead, 3000 injured in China earthquake
April 20, 2013, 10:16 am

A powerful earthquake rocked China's southwestern Sichuan province Saturday morning. (Xinhua)

A powerful earthquake rocked China’s southwestern Sichuan province Saturday morning [Xinhua]

The death toll from Sichuan quake on Saturday has risen to 124, injuring more than 3,000 according to the China Earthquake Administration.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and premier Li Keqiang ordered all possible measures to be taken to rescue victims and minimize deaths and injuries, after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the southwestern Sichuan Province Saturday morning.

The State Council, or the cabinet, has launched a first-grade emergency response to the earthquake.

The earthquake jolted Lushan County of Ya’an City at 8:02 a.m. Beijing Time.

The epicenter, with a depth of 13 km, was monitored at 30.3 degrees north latitude and 103.0 degrees east longitude.

Ya’an has a population of 1.53 million and is known as the hometown of the giant panda.

It is about 140 kilometres away from the provincial capital Chengdu City.

 

Xinhua