China's powerful earthquake killed 149 people: there are still missing
The death toll has risen in the northwestern Chinese provinces of Gansu and Qinghai, where a powerful earthquake of 6.2 magnitude struck. As many as 149 people have lost their lives as a result of the natural disaster, and two more are missing.
The data as of December 25 is published by Reuters. The epicenter of the aftershocks is located in the area inhabited by the Hui people, a close-knit ethnic minority characterized by its distinctive Muslim identity.
Gansu bore the brunt of the earthquake. More than 200,000 homes were destroyed and 15,000 were on the verge of collapse, according to Chinese state media. As of December 22, 117 people were killed and 781 injured in the province as a result of the powerful aftershocks.
According to state media, 32 people were killed in Qinghai, west of Gansu, and two are missing.
Local authorities attributed the severity of the damage to the quake's shallowness. The destructive force of the aftershocks was also exacerbated by the earthquake's fault rupture and the relatively soft sedimentary rock in the region.
Taiwanese authorities have already offered assistance to China. Rescuers from the island are ready to go to China on demand. However, Beijing has not said whether it will allow any foreign rescue teams.