Wounded by collapse of building
Photo: AP
2 Israelis still missing in China after deadly quake
Two Israeli students in Chengdu as part of small delegation have yet to contact families back home. Massive earthquake has so far claimed over 8,000 lives
Two Israeli students studying in the earthquake-stricken city of Chengdu, located in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, have not yet contacted their families to report that they have not been hurt. The two girls are part of a group of 16 Israelis studying in China as part of a project headed by Reidman College.
In what was reportedly one of the worst quakes in decades, buildings across a wide area of central China were destroyed on Monday, killing more than 8,533 people, trapping hundreds of students under the rubble of schools and causing a toxic chemical leak. The official Xinhua News Agency reported that the earthquake reached 7.8 on the Richter scale.
Searching for survivors. (Photo: AFP)
"We felt the quake like thunder rolling out of the ground," one of the Israeli students, Lior Levine, told Ynet. "It happened around 2:30 pm, just as we were headed for a lecture. All of the buildings started dancing. We heard objects breaking in the background, and realized we had to get out. We left the building and waited outside with a crowd of Chinese people, afraid the buildings would collapse."
The Israeli students gathered to make sure everyone was well, and learned that the quake's center had been 100 km away from the college in which they were studying.
Levine said that the Chinese media was censored due to the earthquake. "The press channels were shut down, and the television was darkened just like during the incidents in Tibet. We are trying to learn the details from those people who know English, but we can't really understand the extent of the event."
The Israeli Embassy in Beijing is currently working on finding the two missing students, who recently informed their classmates that they were planning to travel in the area of the college, but have not yet contacted anyone in China or in Israel.
Reuters contributed to this report
