Beijing: Footage showing that some residents in the earthquake-hit Chinese city of Chengdu were stopped from fleeing their compounds due to a Covid lockdown has sparked anger and disbelief online, a media report said.
People in Chengdu said they were told to stay inside through a 6.6-magnitude earthquake on Monday which killed at least 65 persons, BBC reported.
Those who ran out said they found the exits shut due to Covid restrictions, the report said.
Chengdu, home to 21 million people, is currently under strict lockdown rules.
China has a so-called zero Covid policy, meaning that lockdowns are routinely imposed in communities when cases of the virus are detected.
In some instances, apartment buildings where at least one person has tested positive for Covid have been designated “sealed areas” – where residents are forbidden from setting foot outside their homes whether or not they have the virus.
A video claims to be an audio recording of a loudspeaker message that said: “Go back home and do not gather here, it’s just an earthquake. We [here in Sichuan] have a lot of experience [when it comes to earthquakes].”
One man told the BBC he had run out of his 30-storey building after feeling the tremors. When he realised he was trapped, he raised complaints among the crowd gathered at the gates.
“Which one is more important? The lockdown or the earthquake?” Lu Siwei, a lawyer in Chengdu, shouted.
His neighbour replied: “Do not incite emotions and do not talk politics.”
After several heated rounds, Lu said the man then physically assaulted him, BBC reported.
–IANS