(VOVWORLD) - China's State Council has dispatched a working team to guide rescue and relief work following a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan province.
In view of the severity of the disaster, the office of the State Council earthquake relief headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management raised the national earthquake emergency response to Level 2, the second highest level in China's four-tier emergency response system.
As of Monday evening, the quake had killed 46 people, and left 16 missing. Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for all-out relief efforts to save lives and minimize casualties.