HONG KONG, Aug 24 (Reuters) – A Chinese research institute located in the southwestern Chinese metropolis of Chengdu apologised on Monday for initially issuing a higher magnitude earthquake than what other monitors said occurred, sparking some panic among people.
China’s Earthquake Networks Center said a 4.7 magnitude earthquake struck Yibin in southwest China’s Sichuan province at 8:26 a.m. (0026 GMT) on Monday. However, the Institute of Care-Life, a Chengdu-based disaster reduction laboratory, issued a 7.7 magnitude earthquake alert just five seconds after the quake struck.
Addressing the significant discrepancy, it said that the network revised the estimate lower to 6.4 at the sixth second, 3.7 at the seventh second, 4.1 at the eighth second and 3.9 at the 16th second.
The Institute of Care-Life said it will investigate the cause for the deviation as soon as possible to improve its services.
The false alert caused panic among many users, state-backed newspaper the Global Times said.
(Reporting by Farah Master and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
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