On 26 July 1976, the day before the Tangshan earthquake, the second unit, DF5 0002, was completed. The factory was severely damaged in the quake, and over 1,700 employees were killed; despite this, less than two months later, in September 1976 the second unit left the factory, and production work resumed. Between the end of 1976 and 1979, a temporary facility was erected at the Tangshan plant, where 25 DF5s were then produced. This early batch of DF5s has since been nicknamed "Earthquake." By 1981, the Tangshan plant had produced 32 locomotives of the type.