A soldier assigned to the Linxia Detachment of the Chinese People's Armed Police (PAP) Force transports an injured child in the early morning of December 19, 2023. (Photo by Hou Chonghui)

By Zhang Leifeng, Yang Mingyue, Yang Xiaolin and Wu Shitao

JISHISHAN, Dec. 20 -- A 6.2-magnitude earthquake jolted Jishishan County in Northwest China's Gansu Province at 11:59 pm on December 18. After the earthquake, the Chinese PLA Western Theater Command quickly activated the emergency response mechanism and directed troops to carry out disaster relief overnight.

Rescue teams from the PLA, the PAP and the militia arrived at the front line of disaster relief in shortest time and actively cooperated with local governments in carrying out emergency rescue, trying best to ensure the safety of people's lives and property.

A brigade of the PLA 76th Group Army dispatched more than 300 service members who arrived at Chenjia Village and Liugou Town at around 4 am on December 19 to perform search and rescue, road repair, material transportation and other tasks.

The Linxia Detachment and Mobile Detachment of the PAP Gansu Corps dispatched more than 300 troops and over 40 vehicles to four villages in Jishishan County to carry out disaster relief. As of 9 pm on December 19, the troops have rescued 47 people, set up 272 tents, transported 3.8 tons of relief materials, and relocated more than a thousand people.

The Gansu Provincial Military Command activated the emergency response mechanism and dispatched the rescue personnel overnight. Within half an hour after the earthquake, the militia units affiliated with each township had launched rescue operations, reported the on-site disaster situation and provided rescue guidance for the professional rescue forces coming from different directions. As of 6 pm on December 19, the PLA Gansu Provincial Military Command had deployed more than 700 officers, soldiers, and militiamen to participate in earthquake relief.

As the epicenter is located at the junction of Gansu and Qinghai provinces, some areas in Haidong City, Qinghai Province, also suffered damages. In response, the Qinghai Provincial Military Command sent more than 170 militiamen to carry out disaster relief. At the same time, the Haidong Military Sub-Command cooperated with the local government to organize the militia forces to investigate the damaged condition of roads, telecommunications service, and power supply, search for and rescue victims, set up tents, and transported aid materials. Besides, another 400 militiamen in Xunhua, Hualong, Huzhu and other counties near the epicenter had also been assembled to stand by.

As of 6 pm on December 19, the PLA Western Theater Command had dispatched more than 1,500 troops of the PLA and the PAP, more than 900 militiamen, and multiple transport aircraft and helicopters for earthquake relief, and urgently raised 1,000 cotton tents and 630 heating stoves. At present, rescue operations such as search and rescue, transfer of critically injured people, and investigation of major dangerous situations are still being carried out in an intense and orderly manner.

Soldiers assigned to a brigade of the PLA 76th Group Army under the PLA Western Theater Command carry out disaster relief at quake-hit Jishishan County, Gansu Province, on December 19, 2023. (Photo by Xu Guo)

Soldiers assigned to the Linxia Detachment of the PAP Gansu Corps carry out disaster relief in quake-hit Jishishan County, Gansu Province, on December 19, 2023. (Photo by Hou Chonghui)