Death toll in China earthquake climbs to 144

ISTANBUL

The death toll due to a 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck China on Monday night climbed to 144, authorities said on Friday.

The earthquake hit China on Monday with the epicenter being a township in the Jishishan autonomous county in Gansu, some 63 miles (101 kilometers) from the provincial capital Lanzhou.

It also affected neighboring Qinghai province where death toll rose to 31 on Friday besides 113 other residents who lost their lives in Gansu, China’s public broadcaster CGTN reported, citing provincial officials.

All of the 31 deaths were reported in Haidong city.

Authorities moved thousands of people to safer places, mostly in Gansu, amid plummeting winter temperatures.

Temporary shelters and tents have been installed for the quake-hit people in Zhongchuan township, some 15 kilometers (9 miles) away from the epicenter of the earthquake.

The deadliest earthquake since 2014 in China had affected water and electricity supplies in the region which have been mostly restored until Friday.