By Jun Ji-hye
President Park Geun-hye sent a telegram of condolence to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Saturday, following a powerful earthquake in Sichuan Province that killed at least 180 people and injured thousands.
“Korean citizens and I were sad on hearing about the large earthquake resulting in many casualties and high property damage,” President Park said in the telegram.
“Citizens of the Republic of Korea including myself express our regret over the fatalities and send our condolences to the families of the deceased,” Park said.
A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan, southwestern China, at 8:02 a.m. Saturday (local time).
In addition to the 180 dead, 24 were listed missing as of Sunday, according to the Sichuan regional government. In the city of Ya'an, which was close to the epicenter, 164 were killed, along with 6,700 injured _ among them, 500 are in a critical condition, according to Xinhua news agency.
The tremor occurred about 240 kilometers from Wenchuan, which was hit by a massive earthquake in May 2008 that left close to 90,000 people dead or missing.