At least 126 people killed in an earthquake in China

At least 127 people have been killed in north-west China in the country’s deadliest earthquake for years.
The 6.2 magnitude quake hit mountainous Gansu province around midnight on Monday (16:00 GMT), also affecting neighboring Qinghai.
Causalities may rise as rescue missions are still on going. It’s reported more than 700 people were injured in icy conditions.

President Xi Jinping has ordered thousands of rescue teams to the region, which is among the poorest and most diverse in China.
On Tuesday, footage circulating on social media platforms showed entire villages split by the quake, as well as collapsed buildings and houses.
Residents who fled their homes were also shown huddling over makeshift fires at hastily erected evacuation camps. Temperatures hit -13C (8.7F) on Tuesday, Chinese media reported.

Survivors said the tremors had felt like “being tossed by surging waves” and recalled rushing out of their apartments.
“I woke my family up and we rushed down all 16 floors in one breath,” said one man named Mr Qin by Chinese news outlets.
Local officials in Jishishan county, the worst hit in Gansu province, said more than 5,000 buildings in the area had been damaged.
Chinese media quoted a director of the Gansu rescue team, who attributed the widescale damage to poor building quality in the villages – many homes being old and made of clay.