No casualties reported at schools in quake zone

No casualties have been reported at schools in the quake-hit area of Zhaotong, Yunnan province, after a magnitude-6.5 earthquake rattled the province on Sunday, an official with the Zhaotong Education Bureau said on Tuesday night.

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Liu Lehua, deputy director of the education bureau, said despite the collapse of 134 school buildings after the earthquake jolted the area, no teachers or students were killed or injured in school buildings because of the summer vacation.

The bureau will send teams to supervise the relief work at local schools and the new semester will not begin until a school’s facilities are proven to be safe, Liu said.

Zhu Fuxi, a high-ranking official with the Chengdu Military Region, required frontline troops with rescue operations to help local schools with their relief work.

Zhu urged soldiers to build wooden houses so children will have enough classrooms when the new semester begins.