5 killed, 54 injured after M6.3 quake hits SW China

Locals stand outside after a 6.3-magnitude quake hit Kangding county, Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Southwest China's Sichuan province, Nov 22, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

The death toll of a 6.3-magnitude earthquake which hit Kangding County in southwest China's Sichuan Province had risen to five as of 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

The quake struck at 4:55 p.m. Saturday, with its epicenter in Tagong Town, Kangding, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze, about 37 km from the county seat, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

Fifty-four people were injured, with three out of the six in a critical condition now out of danger. The condition of three out of five who suffered severe injuries has improved. The remaining 43 people suffered minor injuries, according to the prefecture government.

The injured are all being treated in the People's Hospital of Garze.

More than 79,500 people were affected and 25,000 houses were damaged. About 6,200 people had been relocated.

Forty-two students from a primary school in Tagong Town, were injured in a stampede during the quake.

About 100 students were in the Zuqing Primary School in Tagong when the quake happened. Some buildings had cracks, said Mao Yu, head of the publicity department of Kangding.

The quake zone has experienced 95 aftershocks so far, with the strongest one measuring 2.3 magnitude in Richter scale.

Minor cracks appeared in some airport buildings of the Kangding airport near the epicenter, but flights were not affected, said Tan Heng, a clerk at the airport.

Citizens in Chengdu, the provincial capital, said they felt the quake strongly.

"The house window was shaking fiercely. Some people rushed out of the building," said a woman in Chengdu.