BEIJING (AP) — A Communist Party official says that earthquake that hit China's Sichuan provinces left at least 32 people dead and injured more than 600.
Xu Mengjia, party secretary of Ya'an city, which administers the area where the quake hit, told China Central Television on Saturday that the casualty count could climb higher.
The quake, which struck shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday, was measured at magnitude-7 by China's seismological bureau and at 6.6 by the US Geological Survey. It struck near the area where a devastating quake left 90,000 dead or missing and presumed dead five years ago.
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In this photo provided by China's official Xinhua News Agency, people gather on a street to avoid aftershocks of an earthquake, in Shifang, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Saturday, April 20. People were killed Saturday when a powerful earthquake jolted China's Sichuan province near the same area where a devastating quake struck five years ago, with state media warning the casualty toll could climb sharply. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Zhang Xiaoli)