Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

China quake death toll rises to more than 80

Updated at 3:31 pm on 8 September 2012

The Chinese government says the number of people killed in two earthquakes in the south west of the country has risen to more than 80.

The official Xinhua news agency reported some 700 people were injured in a remote mountainous region, about 350 km from the Yunnan provincial capital Kunming.

Rescue teams are struggling to reach outlying villages.

Reports say some 20,000 buildings collapsed or were damaged during the two shallow 5.6-magnitude earthquakes.

They struck near the border of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces - the first at 11.19am local time and the second about 45 minutes later, the US Geological Survey said.

As the number of dead climbed throughout the day, state media reported Premier Wen Jiabao would travel to the area.

Most of the victims were from Yiliang county in Yunnan, near the epicentre of the quakes, which struck at a depth of about 9km.

By mid-afternoon, authorities had moved more than 100,000 from the area as a series of more than 60 aftershocks struck. No deaths were reported in Guizhou province.

Footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed boulder-covered roadways, abandoned cars and black smoke pouring from buildings.

Buildings in China's less developed regions are often constructed with little regard for building standards, making them susceptible to earthquakes.

The death toll may rise as rescuers reach villages cut off by landslides, Xinhua said.

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