Dozens of firefighting teams equipped with rescue equipment have headed to Jiangshan county, where a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck.

The death toll from the devastating quake rose to 118 on Tuesday (by 14:00 Beijing time) (GMT+8), including 105 in Gansu province and 13 in neighbouring Qinghai province.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent condolences to Chinese President Xi Jinping over the death toll from the quake.

A fire service spokesman said they have already started work to repair the devastation, mobilising two rescue teams. This is reported by
CCTV+, a partner of TV BRICS.

A total of 1,130 rescuers and 14 search dogs have been deployed.

More than 1,600 firefighters from neighbouring regions are on standby and ready to provide reinforcements.

At the moment, rescuers are scouring ten districts of Dahejia, the worst-hit township.

Officers managed to rescue 61 people from the rubble, of whom 38 survived and 23 died.

Photo:
IStock