<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">The death toll from the 6.2-magnitude earthquake that jolted northwest China earlier this week has risen to 148, with as many as 117 persons dead in the worst-hit Gansu province.</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"> </p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">The quake, the worst in nine years in the region, struck midnight on December 18 at a depth of 10 kilometres. In Qinghai province, which borders Gansu, 31 people were killed in the earthquake.</p>