All Hong Kong tourists reported missing after a magnitude-6.5 earthquake hit the popular tourist destination of Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan last night have been confirmed safe.
Currently, 13 people are reported dead, five of whom are tourists, but the toll is expected to climb as news trickles out of the remote mountainous region. At 10am on Wednesday, the Immigration Department told the SCMP that it had received requests for assistance from 33 Hongkongers (or their concerned family members), two of whom were unable to be reached. They were later confirmed safe.
Representatives for Wing On Travel, Sunflower Travel, and Hong Thai Travel Services, who currently have 78 Hongkongers on tour in Jiuzhaigou, told reporters that all members of their tour groups are safe.
Both Wing On and Hong Thai have confirmed that its upcoming tours to have been canceled. A combined 80 people are reported to be affected.
The quake occurred late last night, killing at least 13 and injuring 175, 28 of them seriously, according to a statement by the government of Aba prefecture, where the epicenter was located.
But China’s National Commission for Disaster Reduction estimated that as many as 100 people may have perished, based on past census data of the sparsely populated region.
Initial images emerging from the quake zone showed paramilitary police searching through rubble for survivors.
Elsewhere, stunned people were seen milling about on debris-strewn streets, fearful of going back inside in case of further tremors.
At least one aftershock, measured at 4.2 magnitude by the US Geological Survey (USGS), hit the region shortly after the main quake.
At around 7:30am today, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake shook northwest China’s Xinjiang region, thousands of kilometers from Sichuan, according to the USGS. It was followed by two aftershocks of 5.2 and 5.3 magnitude, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the remote area.
The Sichuan earthquake was centered near Jiuzhaigou, a valley designated as a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site and which is famed for its striking scenery, karst rock formations, waterfalls and lakes.
State media outlet Xinhua said at least five of the deaths occurred in Jiuzhaigou, adding that more than 34,000 people were visiting the popular tourist site at the time. It said 31,500 tourists had been relocated to safety.
The National Commission for Disaster Reduction estimated that more than 130,000 houses may have been damaged, based on a preliminary analysis of the disaster in Sichuan province.
With reporting from AFP
