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7 dead, 211 injured in SW China quake

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-03-10 15:09

KUNMING - Casualties after an earthquake jolted Yingjiang County in Southwest China's Yunnan province Thursday noon are varified as 7 died, 211 injured and a electricity blackout by local latest report.

Many houses collapsed in the 5.8-magnitude quake that hit the county at 12:58 am Beijing Time, county officials said.

China Central Television reported that the quake had left seven people dead as of 2 pm, citing Li Zhiren, deputy head of the county, as saying.

Witnesses reportedly said people were buried under debris and part of a supermarket and a hotel caved in.

The epicenter, with a depth of 10 kilometers, was monitored at 24.7 degrees north latitude and 97.9 degrees east longitude, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

The epicenter is in Shiming village, about 2 kilometers away from the county seat.

Three aftershocks, measuring up to 4.7 degrees on the Richter Scale,  jolted the county within 10 minutes.

Armymen are rushing to the site.