Tornado kills 6, injures over 190 in China

A rare ferocious tornado blew through a Chinese city in the northeastern province, killing at least six persons, injuring over 190 others and damaging buildings, state media reported on Thursday. The tornado struck Kaiyuan City in northeast China's Liaoning Province on Wednesday, state-run CGTN television reported.

Six persons were killed and over 190 others were injured after the ferocious tornado struck the city, the report said, adding that some 3,500 buildings were damaged, affecting over 9,900 people. The speed of the tornado was estimated to be about 23 meters per second, it said. The report featured a video showing heavy damage to the buildings and people lying in the wreckage of their home during the search by the rescuers. The ferocious tornado came as a surprise to the locals as it is quite rare in the region prompting the government to launch an investigation, the report said.

State-run Xinhua news agency reported that out of the 190 injured 63 are still being treated at six hospitals. Meanwhile, China's National Health Commission (NHC) said an emergency medical expert team has been sent to Kaiyuan city to treat the injured following the deadly tornado.

The team is comprised of nine experts in critical care medicine, orthopaedics, neurosurgery, maxillofacial surgery and psychology with The First Hospital of China Medical University based in Shenyang, the provincial capital. Local health authorities initiated an emergency response and coordinated treatment of wounded people immediately after the tornado struck Kaiyuan. Tornados are rare in China. In 2016, a tornado and accompanying hailstorm killed 98 people in eastern Jiangsu province.