Earthquake leaves 13 dead in China's Qinghai

XINING, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The 6.2-magnitude earthquake that rattled an ethnic county in northwest China's Gansu Province around midnight Monday has killed 13 people in the neighboring Qinghai Province, according to a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

In Qinghai, the quake has left 182 people injured and 20 missing, with rescue efforts continuing, said Wang Wen, vice mayor of Haidong City, Qinghai, at the press conference held by the earthquake relief headquarters in Haidong.

The epicenter of the earthquake in Gansu is only 5 km away from the boundary between the two provinces. Within 50 km of the epicenter, there are 22 townships in Qinghai.

Wang said local departments will carry out safety checks on infrastructure like the supplies of power, water and gas, as well as communications to ensure that people's basic necessities are met.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the quake jolted at 11:59 p.m. Monday and had a focal depth of 10 km. The epicenter is about 8 km from the county seat of Jishishan Bao'an, Dongxiang, Salar Autonomous County in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu. As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, the earthquake had claimed 105 lives in Gansu.