Strong quake hits China; 56 dead, about 600 injured
A strong 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit southwestern China's Sichuan province on Saturday, killing at least 56 people and injuring about 600 close to where a big quake killed almost 70,000 people in 2008.
The earthquake occurred at 8.02 a.m. (0002 GMT) in Lushan county near Ya'an city and the epicenter had a depth of 12 km (7.5 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake was felt by residents in neighboring provinces and in the provincial capital of Chengdu, causing many people to rush out of buildings, according to accounts on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo microblogging service. The official Xinhua news agency said 56 people had been confirmed dead. Other state media said about 600 were injured, dozens of them seriously.
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