CHINA has been hit by a 5.2-magnitude earthquake, killing two and reducing several buildings to rubble.
The tremor struck the Guangxi region at 12.21am on Monday, jolting residents awake in the dead of night.
Authorities have identified the victims as a couple – a 63-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman.
A 91-year-old man who had been reported missing was later found following extensive search-and-rescue efforts.
Footage released by state broadcaster CCTV showed rescue workers carrying the injured man on a stretcher.
He was later taken to hospital for treatment.
Four other people were also sent to hospital, although none of them had life-threatening injuries.
Other footage showed residents fleeing high-rise buildings, navigating their way through piles of rubble beside destroyed homes.
In the aftermath of the natural disaster, authorities evacuated more than 7,000 people in the city of Liuzhou, CCTV reported.
Rescue teams continued searching through the debris, with sniffer dogs deployed in efforts to locate any survivors.
Emergency workers wearing helmets were also seen using earthmovers to clear the wreckage.
Communication and power lines, along with water and gas supplies were reported to be operating normally in the area.
Earthquakes are a relatively common occurrence in China.
In January 2025, a devastating quake struck the remote Tibetan region.
China’s worst ever earthquakes
- May 2008: A magnitude 7.9 earthquake leaves nearly 90,000 people dead or missing and presumed dead in the Sichuan province
- April 2010: A magnitude 7.1 earthquake kills 2,698 people in Qinghai province
- April 2013: Three years later a magnitude 7.0 earthquake kills 196 people in Sichuan
- July 2013: Another 95 died just a few months on after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake rocked Gansu province
- August 2014: A magnitude 6.1 earthquake kills 617 people in Yunnan province
- September 2022: An earthquake wipes out 93 people in Sichuan after a magnitude 6.8 earthquake
- December 2023: A magnitude 6.2 quake kills 126 people in Gansu and Qinghai provinces
- January 2025: At least 126 dead as massive 7.1 magnitude earthquake collapses buildings in Tibet
At least 126 people were killed as thousands of buildings were damaged.
Videos posted by China’s Ministry of Emergency Management showed two people being carried away on stretchers by workers treading over the debris from collapsed homes.
The US Geological Survey (USGC) reported the tremor as of 7.1 magnitude.
They also said data showed the earthquake had a depth of six miles.
The earthquake also rocked Mount Everest – the world’s tallest peak at 29,000ft – but everyone on the mountain was unharmed.