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At least 118 people have been killed in a major earthquake in northwest China. As state news agency Xinhua reported, more than 500 injuries were reported late Monday night after the 6.2 magnitude earthquake.

At least 105 people were killed in Jishishan county of Gansu province. Neighboring Qinghai province reported 13 deaths. Chinese state and party leader Xi Jinping called for every effort to save people.

Eyewitnesses told Xinhua that the earthquake caused damage to roads and other infrastructure. There was also damage to more than 6,000 homes in Jishishan. There was a power outage and water supply in several villages.

The minimum temperature in Jishishan is expected to reach minus 10 degrees on Tuesday, according to the local weather bureau. The provincial fire and rescue service sent helpers to the region. The railway authority has banned trains from passing through the earthquake zone.

Chinese state media showed photos of people fleeing their homes after the earthquake and staying outside wrapped in blankets in winter temperatures. State television showed rescuers searching through the rubble for survivors.

“We are still in shock,” a man from Jishishan told local news portal Jimu about two hours after the earthquake. He and his family ran down the stairs from their 16th floor apartment. Then they got to safety in the car.

According to eyewitnesses, the earthquake was also felt in Lanzhou, the provincial capital of Gansu. Videos of students in Lanzhou rushing to safety from their rooms at night were shared on social media.

Earthquakes occur again and again in the mountainous regions of western China. However, it often affects very sparsely populated areas.

The last major earthquake in China with many deaths occurred last year, when more than seventy people died in the southwest of the country. In 2014, about 600 people were killed in an earthquake in Yunnan province. In 2008, Sichuan province was hit by a massive earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, killing more than 80,000 people. (sda/dpa)