Over 111 killed as quake hits northwest China; Xi Jinping urges all-out rescue efforts

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit the remote and mountainous part of northwest China, killing over 111 people.

According to local earthquake relief headquarters, the quake struck the ethnic county of Jishishan in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture of Gansu province and neighbouring Qinghai province on Monday midnight.

Over 250 have been injured, and the number of missing people in the quake's aftermath remains unknown, reported sources, adding that earthquakes are common in western provinces such as Gansu, which lie on the eastern boundary of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, a tectonically active area.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Centre, the shallow quake had a focal depth of 10 kilometres, causing heavy damage to infrastructure.

Several houses and roads were damaged as villages suffered power failures and water disruption.

Local media reports said residents, who were woken up by the quake, ran out of the buildings to open areas for safety.

Videos and photos doing rounds on Chinese social media showed residents standing amid collapsed buildings wrapped in thick blankets.

The daily low temperature in the quake-hit area is reportedly around minus 10 degrees.