Chinese in Earthquake Zone Flock to WeChat as Phone Calls Fail
This article is for subscribers only.
Chinese in the earthquake-hit province of Sichuan resorted to instant-messaging apps including WeChat to communicate with family and friends, as overloaded voice networks prevented calls from connecting.
Yu Yuli posted a note telling friends she was safe on Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat, China’s most popular instant-messaging app, after futile attempts to make calls. The quake, measured at magnitude 6.6 by the U.S. Geological Survey, killed at least 193 people and injured more than 12,000, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.