A dozen still missing after China’s earthquake

A dozen people were still missing on Thursday after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck northwestern Gansu province late Monday and netizens questioned the speed at which rescue operations ended.
Chinese media reported that search and rescue work in Gansu ended at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, about 15 hours after the disaster hit a remote and mountainous area near the border straddling Gansu and Qinghai provinces. It was not immediately clear whether the search in Qinghai was continuing.
In Gansu, 113 people had been found dead as of 9 a.m. on Wednesday and 782 were injured, authorities said. Gansu has not reported any missing person.
Neighbouring Qinghai saw its death toll rose to 22 with 198 injured and 12 missing as of 8:56 p.m. on Wednesday.
More than 207,000 homes were wrecked and nearly 15,000 collapsed in Gansu, affecting more than 145,000 people.
Discussions online showed netizens curious about how quickly rescue efforts wrapped up in Gansu, with many suggesting that the sub-freezing temperatures were the main factor in shortening the “golden period” for finding survivors – typically 72 hours post-disaster.