5 confirmed dead in Sichuan earthquake

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Source: CCTV.com | 05-12-2008 19:06

Five people are confirmed dead in Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality after the earthquake, which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale.

A major earthquake measuring 7.8 Richter Scale jolted  Wenchuan County of Southwest China's Sichuan province  at 2:28 p.m. on Monday. The quake was also felt in the  capital city of Beijing and Xinhua reporters in Zhengzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing also reported major tremors at around 2 p.m. Monday.(Xinhua Photo)

The first earthquake was at 2:28 p.m. on Monday. The epicenter of Wenchuan County lies in the Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Aba, about 140 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital Chengdu. Tremors were also reported in many other parts of China, including Ningxia, Qinghai, Gansu, Chongqing, Hunan, Hubei, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Shanghai, and as far away as Thailand and Vietnam.

Cracks were seen on walls of some residential structures in downtown Chengdu, but no buildings collapsed. The telecom networks in Chengdu and Chongqing and Zhengzhou were paralyzed after the quake. An underground water pipe was broken underneath a viaduct close to Chengdu's southern railway station, and a road was flooded. The airport in Chengdu was closed to flights following the earthquake. All domestic flights headed there were diverted.

Meanwhile, the other earthquake measuring 3.9 on the Richter scale jolted Tongzhou District in east Beijing just minutes later. The quake was also felt in neighboring Tianjin.

Editor:Xiong Qu