Nearly 400 dead after earthquake in China's Yunnan Province

We begin with the rising death toll from the devastating earthquake in southern China... as rescue workers continue efforts to locate survivors. With more, we now turn to Paul at the News Center. Paul, what's the latest on the search operation? With nearly 400 people now confirmed dead and almost 2-thousand injured, Beijing has dispatched another 25-hundred troops to aid the relief operation. The powerful quake struck China's southern Yunnan province on Sunday afternoon, but rescuers have since been fighting against torrential rains and landslides in order to save as many lives as possible. Our Shin Se-min has more. A massive rescue operation continues this Monday to find survivors of a strong quake that struck the densely populated city of Zhaotong in China a day earlier,... toppling thousands of buildings and killing at least 380 people. So far, the number of injured stands over 18-hundred, but is likely to rise. The 6-point-1 magnitude earthquake had the deepest impact on Ludian, a county of some 449-thousand people located in China's southwestern Zhaotong prefecture. An estimated 12-thousand homes collapsed there. It is still unknown how many people could STILL be trapped under the debris. China's state-run Xinhua News Agency says the earthquake was the strongest to hit the region in 14 years. A major rescue and relief operation is underway,... with over 25-hundred officers and soldiers dispatched to the worst-hit areas, carrying tents, food and excavating tools. The Red Cross Society of China has sent quilts and tents,... while Red Cross branches in Hong Kong and Macau are also sending relief supplies. Chinese authorities scaled up their disaster response on Monday to the highest national level. Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered authorities to make "all-out efforts" to save lives,... while Premier Li Keqiang ordered them to provide food, clothes and temporary housing for those without shelter. The quake struck in a largely agricultural area that is prone to earthquakes. In 1970, a magnitude 7-point-7 quake in Yunnan killed at least 15-thousand people. Shin Se-min, Arirang News.