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![Rescue workers have been in a race against time to save people who may yet be under the rubble of buildings destroyed during Sunday's earthquake [Xinhua]](http://thebricspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/231083945_8-e1407220661705.jpg)
Rescue workers have been in a race against time to save people who may yet be under the rubble of buildings destroyed during Sunday’s earthquake [Xinhua]
The strong quake – the epicenter was in Longtoushan township, 23km southwest of the county seat of Ludian, Zhaotong City – killed at least 398 people and injured 1,800.
Ludian has a population of 265,900 in its seven townships; relief efforts are also under way in neighboring Qiaojia and Huize counties where triage units, medical aid stations and emergency hospitals have been set up.
Meanwhile, several thousand workers accompanied by heavy transportation equipment have been dispatched to roads and arteries into Ludian which sustained critical damage in the earthquake, torrential rain and landslides.
They worked through the night to clear debris and repair at least 2,000-kilometers of damaged roads. Torrential rains have impeded their progress, however, local media reported.
The quake prone zone was affected by a 5.7-magnitude in 2012 that killed over 80 and injured more than 800 people.
In 1974, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in the same town caused over 1400 deaths.
Source: Agencies
