Rescue teams continue to work against time and in the midst of a wave of icy cold to find survivors of the earthquake that struck the northwestern Chinese provinces of Gansu and Qinghai last night. As a result, at least 118 people were killed and 200 injured.

Teams fear low temperatures reaching -14 degrees Celsius will make it difficult to provide assistance, according to testimony from a rescuer cited by a Chinese magazine. Newsweekwhich also indicates difficulties with access to mountainous areas affected by the magnitude 6.2 earthquake, and which had its epicenter on the border between the two aforementioned provinces.

In addition to the 118 dead (105 in Gansu and 13 in Qinghai) and injured, At least 20 people are missingthe official press reports, and teams are trying to find them despite the hurricane using drones, excavators and bulldozers.

In this sense, the state news agency Xinhua notes that “within 72 hours after an earthquake, when survivors are most likely to be rescued, They could have been shortened due to bad weather, “Trapped victims are therefore at greater risk.”

China’s executive branch and Ministry of Emergency Management issued a Level II response to the incident, which particularly affected Jishisan County in Gansu Province and Haidong City in neighboring Qinghai. sending doctors and medicine to the disaster area.

Also sent more than 2000 firefighters to provide assistance after the earthquake, resulting in damage to 4,782 houses in the Jishisan area, in addition to interruptions in water, communications and electricity supplies.

The military is also involved in rescue and relief operations, for which Beijing has allocated a sum of 200 million yuan. (about 28 million dollars).

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Meanwhile, the Chinese President Xi Jinping, on Tuesday morning called on local authorities “make every effort possible” to treat the wounded, repair infrastructure and resettle victims.

It’s about The most destructive earthquake in China since August 2014. in western Yunnan province, which killed 617 people, but a far cry from the 2008 hit in Sichuan province, which killed at least 70,000 people.

Local press suggests that yesterday’s earthquake left “a significant number of casualties” due to the “low seismic resistance” of buildings in these regions, to which we must add the moment of an earthquake, at night, “without the possibility of maneuver for timely evacuation,” the newspaper points out. Global Times.

Some residents told the local newspaper Paper What many people were sleeping when the earthquake occurred and that they did not have time to take cover.

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This newspaper also cites the testimony of a woman whose house instantly collapsed and who she managed to escape because she was still awake when the earthquake occurred.

Videos and photographs circulated today on Chinese social networks were shown on the sidelines. Firefighters try to save residents buried under rubble Several injured people on the roads are already taking cover between blankets.

In response, authorities sent supplies, including 2600 tents, 10,400 cots, 10,400 blankets and 1,000 stove sets.

Until Tuesday morning A total of 111,500 essential items were provided. Xinhua adds to meet the basic needs of the affected people.

According to preliminary analysis by the China Earthquake Network Center, The epicenter occurred in the northeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau. a seismic zone that often suffers from earthquakes because it is located near the collision of the tectonic plates of Asia and India, in the Himalayas.

Another seismic movement A magnitude of 5.5 was recorded today in China’s Xinjiang region. also in the northwest, but away from populated areas, no reports of personal or property damage.

(EFE)