A powerful earthquake struck a mountainous region of western China on Monday, reportedly killing more than 8,500 people, including as many as 5,000 people in a single county, and trapping more than 900 students beneath a collapsed high school as tremors shook buildings throughout China and were felt as far away as Thailand and Vietnam, according to interviews and reports in China's state media.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit in Sichuan Province on Monday afternoon, and the death toll steadily increased throughout the evening, raising concerns that the number could go far higher.
By 9 p.m. local time, the state news agency Xinhua quoted provincial disaster relief officials as saying that 3,000 to 5,000 people were feared dead in Beichuan County. Roughly 80 percent of the buildings in the county were reportedly destroyed. Later, it reported 8,533 dead in Sichuan Province alone, The Associated Press reported.
Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, who arrived in the earthquake region on Monday night, described the situation as a "severe disaster" and called for "calm, confidence, courage and efficient organization."
Earthquake in Wuhan, China (May 12, 2008)
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