Chinese officials say more than 9,000 people were killed by the largest earthquake in decades, which struck the central portion of the country Monday.

The 7.8 magnitude quake leveled a hilly region of small cities and towns in Sichuan and nearby provinces, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

In one city, Chengdu, about 60 miles from the quake's epicenter, a middle school collapsed, trapping about 900 children.

The quake struck in the middle of the afternoon, when businesses, offices and schools were full.

The last major quake in China was in 1976; a magnitude 7.5 earthquake in Diexi, Sichuan that hit on August 25, 1933 killed more than 9,300 people.

The temblor was felt as far away as Vietnam and Thailand.

© 2008 Newsroom.