770+ wounded, hundreds of houses damaged as quake hits southwest China (VIDEOS)

Hundreds of people were injured as a 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck China’s southwest Sichuan Province early on Thursday. CCTV cameras caught shaking buildings and scared people rushing outside.

Gong County in Sichuan’s Yibin City was shaken at 08:48 Beijing time (01:48 GMT), the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) said. The epicenter of the quake was located at the depth of 15 km, it added.

Local new outlets posted videos from CCTV cameras online, showing panicking people fleeing their homes, the shaking buildings, with bricks falling from them, and the damage done by the tremor.

Official say that at least 774 people received injuries and 691 homes were damaged as a result. The classes in schools were cancelled, with students evacuated to safety.  Rescuers have been working on site, with authorities sending warm clothes, food and medical supplies to Gong County.

Luckily, despite multiple injuries there were no fatalities in the disaster, Xinhua news agency reported. Power supply and communication lines were also unaffected.

Yet, there were more than 40 aftershocks of 3.0 magnitude in the affected area since the initial quake.

In May 2008, Sichuan suffered one of the deadliest earthquakes in human history. More than 87,000 people were killed and almost 375,000 others wounded as the mountainous province was hit by an 8.0 magnitude quake, which caused a fault of over 240 kilometers in length.

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