The Foreign Minister of the Republic, Carlos Faría, extended this Monday the message of solidarity to the people and government of the People’s Republic of Chinaafter the damage caused by the earthquake in Sichuan Province.
“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela expresses its sincere words of condolences and its solidarity to the people and government of the People’s Republic of China for the numerous victims and material damage caused by the earthquake that affected the province of Sichuan,” he wrote in his account, @ Fariacrt.
An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale left 21 people dead on Monday in Luding county in Sichuan province, southwest of Chinainformed the local authorities, according to a report from the Xinhua agency.
In this regard, they detailed that seven people died in Luding County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and the other 14 died in Shimian County, Ya’an City.
The Chinese Red Cross launched a level III emergency response after the earthquake, with the first batch of relief materials consisting of 320 tents, 2,200 relief kits, 1,200 quilts and 300 folding beds sent to the affected area.
In addition, they sent a team of people to help with relief and rescue work.
Sichuan province has activated the second highest level of emergency response forces for the earthquake, and they are rushing to send more aid to the epicenter area.
the earthquake of magnitude 6.8 shook Luding County at 12:52 p.m. Monday (Beijing time), according to the China Earthquake Network Center (CENC).
The epicenter was monitored at 29.59 degrees north latitude and 102.08 degrees east longitude, at a depth of 16 km, the CENC said.
The epicenter is 39 kilometers from the county town of Luding, and there are several villages within the 5-kilometer range around the epicenter.
The tremor was felt in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, which is 226 km from the epicenter.
Saving lives is the priority after the earthquake
Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered maximum rescue efforts to minimize the number of victims after the earthquake of magnitude 6.8 on the Richter scale that shook the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan on Monday, and has stressed that saving lives must be considered as the primary task.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, gave the instruction after the earthquake struck Luding County at 12:52 p.m. on Thursday, Xinhua reported.
