At least 21 people were killed after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck central China's Sichuan province, according to the latest report from the state-run Xinhua news agency.
The Ministry of Emergency Management declared a level III emergency response to earthquakes and a task force has moved to the area to assist in relief work.
The telluric movement was presented at 12:52 local time on Monday. The China Earthquake Networks Center reported that the movement occurred at a depth of 16 kilometers and had its epicenter in Luding county, located about 200 kilometers from the provincial capital, Chengdu, with more than 20 million inhabitants.
Seven people died in Luding county, while the other 14 perished in Shimian county, both in Sichuan, Xinhua reported.
After a preliminary inspection, local authorities reported that communication with some towns in the area has been cut off and that there have been landslides and serious damage to homes and roads.
In recent weeks, Sichuan has also been hit by a heat wave of unprecedented intensity in decades, a drought that caused power outages in some areas, fires and some.
With information from EFE
