Thousands killed in China quake
Several children were killed after a school building collapsed in Dujiangyan in Sichuan province [AFP]
About 7,000 people may have been killed in one county alone after a powerful earthquake hit southwest China.
Buildings have collapsed and telephone links in several provinces have been cut after the magnitude 7.5 quake struck 92km northwest of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, at 1448 local time (0628 GMT) on Monday.
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The quake was felt across a number of cities in southeast Asia including the Thai capital Bangkok, more than 1,800km from the epicentre in the county of Wenchuan.
Wenchuan, a mountainous area, has a population of about 100,000 people.
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The death toll is expected to rise sharply as authorities and rescue teams make contact with the worst-hit areas of Sichuan province.
Nearly 900 students might have been buried in the ruble in Sichuan province, Xinhua News Agency reported.
In Shifeng in Sichuan, two chemical plants were damaged burying hundreds of people and forcing the evacuation of more than 6,000 others.
Rescuers are trying to retrieve survivors.
Earlier, state media confirmed 107 casualties in the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan as well as Chongqing, a municipality of 30 million people that neighbours Sichuan.
Buildings toppled in at least six counties near the epicentre, Xinhua said.
About 80 percent of buildings in Beichun county have collapsed, and about 10,000 people are believed to be injuerd there.
In Beijing, China's capital city, and Shanghai, office workers poured into the streets as the tremor hit.
There is no visible damage in Beijing, which will hold the summer Olympics in August, Xinhua reports.
Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, described the incident as a "major disaster" and called for calm.
He is travelling to the affected area.
Hu Jintao, the president, has ordered an "all-out" rescue effort, Xinhua reports.
Thousands of army troops and members of the People's Armed Police, a paramilitary force, carrying medical supplies are heading to the region, state television said.
Airports and railways stations have been closed in Chengdu and state media reports that some parts of the city have been cut off from water and electricity.
Xinhua said there was no immediate impact to the Three Gorges Dam project.
Experts have said the weight of the resevoir, which is hundreds of kilometers from Chengdu, could increase the risk of tremors.
A statement issued by the local government in Aba prefecture, where the epicentre was located, said buildings had cracked and collapsed, and mountain roads are damaged.
The area has a population of about 110,000 residents, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Al Jazeera's Melissa Chan said the decision by the prime minister to rush to the area indicated the severity of the earthquake and the damage it may have caused.
Aftershocks
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake is considered a major event, capable of causing widespread damage and injuries in populated areas.
A man who answered the phone at a branch of the Holiday Inn hotel in Chengdu said the quake lasted about five minutes and there were several aftershocks.
"We all felt very scared," he said, but added that he had not heard of any major damage such as collapsed buildings or casualties.
Jessica Sigala of the US Geological Survey based in Colorado said the quake struck at a relatively shallow depth, so aftershocks could be expected.
China's deadliest earthquake in recent memory hit the eastern city of Tangshan in 1976.
The magnitude 7.8 earthquake followed by an equally powerful aftershock almost a day later killed around 240,000 people
Several children were killed after a school building collapsed in Dujiangyan in Sichuan province [AFP]
About 7,000 people may have been killed in one county alone after a powerful earthquake hit southwest China.
Buildings have collapsed and telephone links in several provinces have been cut after the magnitude 7.5 quake struck 92km northwest of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, at 1448 local time (0628 GMT) on Monday.
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The quake was felt across a number of cities in southeast Asia including the Thai capital Bangkok, more than 1,800km from the epicentre in the county of Wenchuan.
Wenchuan, a mountainous area, has a population of about 100,000 people.
bodyVariable300="Htmlphcontrol2_lblError";
The death toll is expected to rise sharply as authorities and rescue teams make contact with the worst-hit areas of Sichuan province.
Nearly 900 students might have been buried in the ruble in Sichuan province, Xinhua News Agency reported.
In Shifeng in Sichuan, two chemical plants were damaged burying hundreds of people and forcing the evacuation of more than 6,000 others.
Rescuers are trying to retrieve survivors.
Earlier, state media confirmed 107 casualties in the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan as well as Chongqing, a municipality of 30 million people that neighbours Sichuan.
Buildings toppled in at least six counties near the epicentre, Xinhua said.
About 80 percent of buildings in Beichun county have collapsed, and about 10,000 people are believed to be injuerd there.
In Beijing, China's capital city, and Shanghai, office workers poured into the streets as the tremor hit.
There is no visible damage in Beijing, which will hold the summer Olympics in August, Xinhua reports.
Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, described the incident as a "major disaster" and called for calm.
He is travelling to the affected area.
Hu Jintao, the president, has ordered an "all-out" rescue effort, Xinhua reports.
Thousands of army troops and members of the People's Armed Police, a paramilitary force, carrying medical supplies are heading to the region, state television said.
Airports and railways stations have been closed in Chengdu and state media reports that some parts of the city have been cut off from water and electricity.
Xinhua said there was no immediate impact to the Three Gorges Dam project.
Experts have said the weight of the resevoir, which is hundreds of kilometers from Chengdu, could increase the risk of tremors.
A statement issued by the local government in Aba prefecture, where the epicentre was located, said buildings had cracked and collapsed, and mountain roads are damaged.
The area has a population of about 110,000 residents, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Al Jazeera's Melissa Chan said the decision by the prime minister to rush to the area indicated the severity of the earthquake and the damage it may have caused.
Aftershocks
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake is considered a major event, capable of causing widespread damage and injuries in populated areas.
A man who answered the phone at a branch of the Holiday Inn hotel in Chengdu said the quake lasted about five minutes and there were several aftershocks.
"We all felt very scared," he said, but added that he had not heard of any major damage such as collapsed buildings or casualties.
Jessica Sigala of the US Geological Survey based in Colorado said the quake struck at a relatively shallow depth, so aftershocks could be expected.
China's deadliest earthquake in recent memory hit the eastern city of Tangshan in 1976.
The magnitude 7.8 earthquake followed by an equally powerful aftershock almost a day later killed around 240,000 people
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