The number of deaths from the earthquake that occurred on the 18th in inland China has so far been 127, and 20 people have gone missing. In the affected areas, the nighttime temperature has fallen below minus 10 degrees Celsius, and the search for missing people is not only a battle against time but also a battle against the cold.
According to Chinese state media, the earthquake that struck late on the night of the 18th with its epicenter in the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture of Gansu Province in inland China has killed 113 people so far, including 14 in Gansu Province and 127 in neighboring Qinghai Province.
In Qinghai Province, 20 people are missing after being caught in a landslide.
Aerial footage from the state-run China Central Television shows a large amount of sediment flowing into a corner lined with houses and other buildings, covering the entire area.
Some buildings have been buried in sediment up to the roof, while others have been swept away and have not retained their original form.
Normally, it is said that the survival rate drops sharply after 3 full days and 72 hours after the occurrence of a disaster, but in the affected areas, the temperature continues to be bitter at night with temperatures below minus 10 degrees Celsius due to the cold wave, and there is a risk that the time until the survival rate decreases may be accelerated.
Rescue teams are working through the night to search for the area with heavy machinery, but it is not only a battle of time, but also a battle against the cold.
In a city about 100 kilometers from the epicenter
At the airport in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, in inland China, about 100 kilometers from the epicenter, on the night of the 19th, some people were dressed in disaster response uniforms that seemed to be heading to the disaster area.
According to a resident of Lanzhou, a woman in her 18s said that she felt a large tremor in the city center during the earthquake that occurred on the night of the 50th, "I was scared, and I felt that it was not easy to get down from the room on the 21st floor where I lived, so I sat down and passed. Even after that, I couldn't sleep well."
In addition, it is reported that there are people who were caught in landslides in the disaster area and are still missing, and a woman in her 30s said, "I hope that I will be rescued as soon as possible.