Official: China Quake Kills 32, Injures 600

(AP) – A Communist Party official says that earthquake that hit China’s Sichuan provinces left at least 32 people dead and injured more than 600.

Xu Mengjia, party secretary of Ya’an city, which administers the area where the quake hit, told China Central Television on Saturday that the casualty count could climb higher.

The quake, which struck shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday, was measured at magnitude-7 by China’s seismological bureau and at 6.6 by the U.S. Geological Survey. It struck near the area where a devastating quake left 90,000 dead or missing and presumed dead five years ago.