The quake’s epicentre is in Jishishan county, an autonomous ethnic minority county with a population of nearly 240,000.
The quake caused houses to collapse in the area and damaged utility infrastructure.
The Ministry of Transport, which monitors the operation of roads, said on Tuesday morning that a bridge across the Yellow River had cracked because of the quake.
China’s top healthcare authority, the National Health Commission, has sent medical experts from top hospitals to the disaster area to provide support, state broadcaster CCTV said on Tuesday morning.
Gansu province’s top two officials – provincial party secretary Hu Changsheng and governor Ren Zhenhe – also headed to the disaster area early on Tuesday.
