Report: Aftershock killed 3 in China disaster zone

The toll from a powerful aftershock in a central Chinese region devastated by an earlier disaster has risen to three, and more than 3,200 houses have been destroyed, a state-run news agency reported Wednesday. The magnitude 6.0 aftershock Tuesday hit Sichuan province and nearby Shaanxi and Gansu, collapsing buildings and cutting highways, power and water supplies and communications, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. Xinhua cited local officials as saying two people were killed and 29 injured in Yaodu town, and more than 3,200 houses were ruined in Yaodu and two other towns nearby. One person died and six were injured in Wenxian in Gansu, Xinhua said. Sichuan and some nearby provinces were devastated by a magnitude 7.9 quake on May 12 that killed almost 70,000 and left 5 million homeless. The region has been hit by... [read full story]