A 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Lushan county of Ya'an city in Southwest China's Sichuan Province at 8:02 am Saturday, leaving 152 people dead, according to the Xinhua News Agency at 9:15 pm.

The earthquake has killed 11 people in Baoxing county, Sichuan Province and injured a dozen. In order to make way for disaster relief, all the entrances to Chengya highway which connected Chengdu and Ya’an have been blocked. Only vehicles belonging to the army and the hospitals are allowed to pass.

Baoxing is one of the hardest hit areas. A part of the road that connected Lushan county and Baoxing has been cut off due to the collapse of the mountain.

Residents had lost contacts with the outside world until 6 pm Saturday when the soldiers rebuilt the road and the traffic was recovered. 

In Yingjing county, central part of Ya'an, hundreds of local residents chose to stay outside to avoid the aftershocks. Most of the shops have been shut down.

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