175 dead, 181 missing in SW China quake

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) At least 175 people were killed and 181 others are missing after a 6.5-magnitude earthquake jolted southwest China's Yunnan Province on Sunday, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the quake also injured more than 1,400 people. The strong quake hit at 4:30 p.m. (0830 GMT) with a depth of 12 km and the epicenter was in Ludian county of Zhaotong city.

More than 12,000 houses were toppled and 30,000 damaged. Traffic, electricity and telecommunications have been cut off in the county.

As of 8 p.m., more than 2,500 troops have been dispatched to the quake zone. Zhaotong City has dispatched more than 300 police and firefighters to the quake-hit area. The province also sent 392 rescuers and 12 sniffer dogs.

Ludian has a population of nearly 430,000. Zhaotong, about 300 km from Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan, is on the earthquake belt and has been occasionally jolted by quakes.

In September 2012, a 5.7-magnitude caused more than 80 deaths and injured more than 800 people. In 1974, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in the same place caused over 1,400 deaths.

It is raining hard in the quake zone, which may pose more challenges to rescue and relief work. More rains are forecast in the coming week, according to the website of China Meteorological Administration.