China's Sichuan struck by deadly earthquake

The death toll has climbed to at least 65 after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern China on Monday. 

Close to 250 people were being treated for injuries, dozens of them critically wounded. More than 200 people were still stranded in the quake zone.

The epicenter of the quake was located in a mountainous area in Luding in Sichuan province, about 226 kilometers (140 miles) southwest of Chengdu, a city of about 21 million people under a COVID-19 lockdown.

The earthquake caused "serious damage to housing due to mountain landslides" while telecommunication lines had been cut off in some areas, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Quake lasted several minutes

Video clips posted on social media showed lights swinging while people rushed out of buildings into the streets.

"The shaking was quite strong, and it lasted for a while," Shirley Li, who lives on the 30th floor of an apartment block in Chengdu, told Reuters news agency. "It's been a hard time for us — heatwaves, the COVID lockdown, and now the earthquake." 

Another resident, Jiang Danli, told the Associated Press she hid under a desk for five minutes, and "was really scared, because I live on a high floor and the shaking made me dizzy.'' 

In Luding, the quake was so strong it was hard for some people to remain standing while cracks appeared on some houses, according to state media China News Service.

Earthquakes fairly common in Sichuan

According to social media posts, Monday's quake was felt as far away as the city of Changsha in Hunan province and the city of Xian in Shaanxi province.

The quake was the largest to hit Sichuan province since August 2017, when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Aba prefecture.

In 2008, a 7.9 magnitude became China's deadliest earthquake killing nearly 90,000 people in Sichuan.

It led to a years-long effort to rebuild with more quake-resistant materials.

see, lo/rs (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)