Hundreds Reported Dead In China Quake

A powerful earthquake ravaged a mountain city in southwestern China, killing at least 210 people and injuring 3,700 others, authorities said today.

The magnitude-7 earthquake in the Yunnan province struck at 7:14 p.m. (6:14 a.m. EST) Saturday near Lijiang, a tourist area about 1,300 miles southwest of Beijing, the Central Seismology Bureau said.

As of noon Sunday, 210 people were known dead, said Chen Jie of the provincial government office. The state-run Xinhua News Agency said 3,700 were seriously injured.

Three medical teams and about 2,000 soldiers and local militiamen were sent to help with rescue operations, Xinhua said.

The extent of the disaster wasn’t immediately clear. Wang Ze, also of the provincial government, said rescuers searched for victims throughout the night. The provincial vice governor went to the area today to investigate.

There were no reports of foreign tourists killed or injured, Wang said.

The area in northwestern Yunnan is not heavily populated, but the earthquake’s destruction covered parts of three counties - Lijiang, Zhongdian and Heqing - the state-run Xinhua News Agency said.