At least 89 killed, 5 missing in strong northwestern China earthquake

BEIJING, CHINA (BNO NEWS) -- At least 89 people were killed, while others are still missing after a powerful earthquake shook northwestern China, local authorities said Monday.

The 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck on Monday morning at around 7:45 a.m. local time at the county border between Minxian and Zhangxian, located in China's Gansu Province.

As of 6 p.m. local time, 87 people had been confirmed dead in the city of Dingxi while two others were killed in the neighboring city of Longnan, according to municipal government authorities who spoke with the state-run Xinhua news agency. In addition, at least five others were reported missing.

President Xin Jinping issued an all-out search-and-rescue operation in the affected regions, dispatching at least 2,000 soldiers, along with two helicopters. As relief operations continue, authorities are fearing an increasing death toll.

One of the most deadliest earthquakes in recent history took place on May 12, 2008, when an 8-magnitude earthquake in Wenchuan county in southwestern China's Sichuan province killed nearly 70,000 people and leaving around 18,000 others in missing.

On April 14, 2010, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu, northwest China's Qinghai Province killed 2,698 people.

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