Death toll rises to 56 in SW China earthquake

Fifty-six people were killed in the 7.0-magnitude earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province, according to the provincial earthquake relief headquarters.

The earthquake hit Lushan county of Ya'an City in the province at 8:02 a.m. Saturday Beijing Time, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

Vehicles damaged by rolling rocks were seen in the county. Houses along a street in the Lushan county seat have also collapsed. Helicopters are hovering, according to Xinhua reporters at the scene.

Patients are receiving medical treatment on the ground in front of the Lushan County Hospital.

More than 500 people are injured, 135 seriously, said Le Zhiyong, deputy head of the hospital.

A 5.3-magnitude earthquake jolted the border areas between the counties of Lushan and Tianquan at about 11:34 a.m., the strongest aftershock after the 7.0-magnitude quake, according to the provincial seismological bureau.

About 400 armed police have arrived in Lushan county to assist with rescue efforts. More than 1,400 rescuers from the provincial fire-fighting department are rushing to the site.

The hardest-hit areas are in the townships of Longmen and Qingren, said Jin Zelin, an official with the provincial armed police corps.

About 200 technicians from China Mobile Limited's Sichuan branch have been dispatched to disaster-hit areas to repair the telecommunications network.

China Earthquake Administration (CEA) has sent an emergency-response team to Lushan county.

The team, headed by CEA deputy director Xiu Jigang, will join another team from the Sichuan provincial earthquake bureau, which is also heading for the epicenter.

According to the CEA, the quake originated in the Longmenshan fracture zone.

A total of 12 earthquakes at 5.0-magnitude or above have occurred in the area within 100 kilometers of its epicenter since 1900, including the devastating Wenchuan 8.0-magnitude quake in 2008 that left 87,000 people dead or missing.

A work team comprising officials fromy eight central government ministries rushed to the area hit by quake to direct quake-relief works.