Death toll from China earthquakes rises to 11

• The death toll from two strong earthquakes in China rose to 11 on Tuesday, with 122 people injured, state media said.
• Rescuers pulled some survivors from rubble in a part of the country that often suffers strong tremors, according to state media.
• The quakes, roughly 30 minutes apart, hit the southwestern province of Sichuan late on Monday, with shaking felt in key regional cities, such as the provincial capital of Chengdu and the metropolis of Chongqing.

Destroyed buildings at the ruins of earthquake-hit Beichuan county during the ten year anniversary on May 12, 2018 in Sichuan province, China. The Beichuan county was relocated a decade after it was destroyed by the May 12, 2008 earthquake in which more than 15000 people died.

Wang He | Getty Images

The death toll from two strong earthquakes in China rose to 11 on Tuesday, with 122 people injured, state media said, adding that rescuers pulled some survivors from rubble in a part of the country that often suffers strong tremors.

The quakes, roughly 30 minutes apart, hit the southwestern province of Sichuan late on Monday, with shaking felt in key regional cities, such as the provincial capital of Chengdu and the metropolis of Chongqing.

People rushed into the streets and cracks were left in some buildings by the quakes, pictures posted on the social media accounts of state media showed.

Rescuers pulled some people out of rubble alive near the epicentre, in a largely rural area, state television added.

A quake of magnitude 5.9 was followed by a smaller one of 5.2 magnitude, both at a depth of 10 km (6 miles) and centred near Changning county, the United States Geological Survey said.

There were several aftershocks, the China Earthquake Administration said, while the U.S. quake agency recorded one of magnitude 5.2 on Tuesday.

In May 2008, Sichuan suffered a huge earthquake that killed almost 70,000 people.