21 Dead after Earthquake hits China

At least 21 people are dead after a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan province in China.

The earthquake occurred at 12:52 pm local time at a depth of 10 km and was centred 43.6 km southeast of Kangding, China.

Kangding is home to over 130,000 people.

Government officials dispatched emergency crews to the area. Several buildings were also damaged according to local reports.

The area does see a lot of earthquakes because it is located along the Longmenshan Fault which ruptured during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. That earthquake had a magnitude of 7.9 and hit 79 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital of Chengdu. Official figures recorded a death toll of nearly 70,000 people, and millions of people were left homeless.