Death Toll From Earthquake in China's Sichuan Province Exceeds 80, State Media Report

BEIJING (Sputnik) - The number of victims of an earthquake in China's southwestern province of Sichuan has reached 82, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Thursday.

The provincial government said on Wednesday that the death toll from the earthquake had reached 74.

According to CCTV, as of 08:00 local time (00:00 GMT) on Thursday, the 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Luding County of the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan killed 82 people.

As a result of the disaster, more than 270 people received injuries of various degrees of severity, four of them are in a critical condition, while the condition of another 62 is estimated as heavy, according to the report.

The China Earthquake Networks Center recorded a 6.8 magnitude earthquake at 12:52 local time (04:52 GMT) on Monday. The earthquake destroyed power lines and damaged several houses and infrastructure facilities. The authorities evacuated more than 10,600 people from the affected areas. Search and rescue operations, as well as work to eliminate the consequences of the earthquake continue.

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a telegram to Chinese leader Xi Jinping expressing his condolences over the tragedy and wishing a speedy recovery to those injured.

Sichuan Province is one of the most seismic regions in China, where earthquakes occur regularly. In May 2008, the strongest earthquake in recent decades with magnitude 8 occurred there. At that time, 87,150 people died or went missing, 374,000 were injured and millions of people were left homeless. The economic damage exceeded 1 trillion yuan ($144 billion).