Video: '6.9 Earthquake Rocks China'

(Wednesday, April 14, 2010, 07:49 a.m. China Standard Time) — A powerful earthquake in northwest China today killed at least 2,698 people and left many others buried under debris.

In addition to the 2,698 people confirmed dead, another 270 were missing and 12,135 injured, 1,434 of them severely, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The quake was reported as having a magnitude of 7.1 by China’s earthquake administration. The United States Geological Survey recorded it as 6.9.

The epicenter had been in Yushu County, an area sparsely populated with farmers and herders, mostly ethnic Tibetans.