One killed, 17 injured in China quake

Beijing: At least one person was confirmed dead and 19 injured when a quake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale hit southwest China's Yunnan province Tuesday night and caused damage to properties, Xinhua reported.

The casualty was reported from the Yongping Town in Jinggu County of Yunnan province, five kilometres from the epicentre of the quake which occurred at 9.49 p.m. and had a focal depth of five kilometres.

The temblor jolted the Jinggu Dai and Yi County, with a population of 290,000, an official said.

With a population of some 54,000 people, the mountainous town is one of the worst-hit area in the quake. "Many houses collapsed and we are investigating the casualties. The aftershocks seem non-stopping," an official said.

Tremors were felt across the Yunnan province, which is prone to earthquake disasters, the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) said, predicting "serious casualties and economic loss".

The center initiated a Class-II emergency response to the quake, and classified the quake as a major earthquake disaster.