2 killed, 42 injured after M6.3 quake hits SW China

Two severely wounded people receive treatment at the People's Hospital of Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Southwest China's Sichuan province, Nov 23, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

Two people were killed and 42 injured after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake at a depth of 18 kilometers, struck Kangding county, Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Southwest China's Sichuan province.

The quake struck at 4:55 pm Saturday, with its epicenter in Tagong Town, 37 km from the county seat, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

A woman in her 70s died at the scene after being hit in the head by falling debris, said Chen Yunbing, a doctor with Ganzi People's Hospital.

The latest source from local publicity department the death toll has increased to two.

House damages cannot be calculated in the night, it said, adding that concrete damages and casualties are still being counted up.

Forty-two students from a primary school in Tagong Town, the epicenter, were injured in a stampede during the quake. The injured people have been sent to Ganzi People's Hospital.

About 100 students were in the Zuqing Primary School in Tagong when the quake happened. Some buildings had cracks, said Mao Yu, head of the publicity department of Kangding.

About 55,000 people have been affected by the quake, according to the provincial civil affairs department.

The quake zone has experienced 95 aftershocks so far, with the strongest one measuring 2.3 magnitude in Richter scale.

Minor cracks appeared in some airport buildings of the Kangding airport near the epicenter, but flights were not affected, said Tan Heng, a clerk at the airport.

Citizens in Chengdu, the provincial capital, said they felt the quake strongly.

"The house window was shaking fiercely. Some people rushed out of the building," said a woman in Chengdu.

Xinhua contributed to this story.