Magnitude 7.9 Earthquake HITS EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA

2008 May 12 06:28:01 UTC

A 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit China's Sichuan Province on Monday afternoon, reportedly killing more than 8,500 people. The death toll steadily increased throughout the evening, raising concerns that the number could go far higher. Tremors shook buildings for hundreds of miles and were felt as far away as Vietnam and Thailand, according to interviews and reports in China's state media. Left, a collapsed school in Dujiangyan.

A girl is pulled out from the rubble of a school in Juyuan.

A boy being rescued in Dujiangyan.

A student aiding a classmate still in the ruins of a high school in Beichuan County.

Rain followed the earthquake in Dujiangyan, adding even more hardship to a disaster

Destruction in Djuiangyan, the epicenter of the earthquake.

People gathered in a parking lot in Chongqing after the earthquake. China is prone to seismic activity and has suffered horrific earthquakes in the recent past. In 1976, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the city of Tangshan, located roughly 70 miles from Beijing. More than 240,000 people were killed and nearly every building was leveled in that quake.

A street in Chongqing. Earlier in the day, the first reports of fatalities came from Chongqing, where two primary schools were damaged. Four pupils died and more than 100 others were injured, state media reported.

A rescuer searched the rubble of a collapsed building in Dujiangyan. Damage is believed to be especially severe in Dujiangyan, a county of 600,000 people located near the epicenter.

A square as safe ground in Chongqing municipality.