A deadly 6.2-magnitude earthquake has claimed at least 86 lives, injuring 96 in Gansu province in northwestern China as of Tuesday morning and full-scale rescue work already underway.

The earthquake occurred in Jishishan County in Gansu province late on Monday. Due to the severity of the disaster, the State Council's command center for earthquake emergency response and the Ministry of Emergency Management have raised the national earthquake emergency response to Level II. The National Committee for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry of Emergency Management have also raised the national emergency response for disaster relief to Level III.

After the earthquake, a total of 1,440 firefighters from the national comprehensive firefighting and rescue teams were dispatched to the disaster area for rescue operations.

Additionally, 1,603 firefighters from Gansu province and neighboring provinces have been assembled and are on standby, ready to provide cross-regional reinforcements at any time.