6.6 magnitude earthquake hits China, over 40 dead

Washington: Over 40 people have died and over 300 injured in the earthquake that hit northwest China on Monday morning.

The seismological department officials say that the earthquake measuring 6.6 on the ricter occured at the junction of two counties, the Minxian County and the Zhagxian counties, about 170 km (105 miles) southeast of the provincial capital of Lanzhou, at 7.45 on Monday morning (2345 GMT Sunday), lasted for about a minute.

A 5.6-magnitude quake jolted the same area about an hour later. Many neighbouring counties of China have also reported tremors.

Eight towns in the remote, mountainous area sustained serious damage in the quake and subsequent flooding and mudslides, state media said.

There were also power outages and communications were cut off in 13 towns in Zhangxian County, Xinhua said.####View Larger Map