JIEGU, China, April 14 (UPI) -- Rescuers searched wrecked buildings for survivors of an earthquake that killed hundreds in southwestern China.
The magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck early Wednesday in Qinghai province, destroying most of the structures in the town of Jiegu. Officials said about 400 people were dead and thousands injured, state media reported.
Hundreds of people were rescued from collapsed buildings.
There have been at least four aftershocks of magnitude 4.8 or stronger associated with the primary event, the U.S. Geological Survey said. That doesn't include a quake measured at 5 that hit about two hours before the 6.9-magnitude temblor.
It was feared additional shaking would cause a nearby dam, already showing cracks, to fail.
A spokesman for the city told state-run news agency Xinhua, "The streets in Jiegu are thronged with panic -- injured people …
"I can see injured people everywhere."
Qinghai abuts Sichuan province, where more than 87,000 people died in a 2008 earthquake.
Wednesday's temblor is the latest in a series of deadly earthquakes this year, including a quake that resulted in an estimated 230,000 deaths in Haiti and a massive 8.8-magnitude quake that hit Chile.
