A 7.1-magnitude earthquake has hit northwest China's Qinghai Province, killing at least 400 people and injuring about 8-thousand others.

A level-One state of emergency has been declared and rescue teams have been dispatched to the disaster zone.

The quake struck Yushu County in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu at 7:49 local time on Wednesday morning. The epicenter was 30 kilometers from the Jiegu Township and about 800 kilometers south-west of the provincial capital, Xining.

A local official reported more than 85 percent of houses in the Jiegu Township had collapsed. Pupils of primary schools were among the buried, but the exact number remains unknown. The quake led to a temporary cut of telecommunications, damaged roads to the airport, and sparked several blazes.

Hundreds of soldiers are scrambling to clear the rubble. So far, they have rescued 28 people.

More than 5-thousand additional aid workers, including soldiers and medical staff, have been dispatched to the quake-hit region.

China Eastern Airlines has arranged two Airbus planes for transporting rescuers and relief supplies.

At least 18 aftershocks have been reported. The biggest was a 6.3-magnitude tremor that came just over an hour and a half after the initial quake.

Although Yushu is a sparsely-populated region, experts warn the quake is very likely to cause "heavy" casualties. The area is in urgent need of tents, medicine and medical staff and equipment.

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