Three killed in China earthquake

An earthquake struck China’s south-western Sichuan province today, killing three people, according to reports.

The 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit 31 miles southeast of Panzhihua city this afternoon, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Residents of Kunming, the capital of neighbouring Yunnan province, felt a strong shock from the earthquake.

A duty officer at the State Seismology Bureau said the quake occurred in a mountainous area. The bureau is still gathering information, he said.

On May 12, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake in northern Sichuan killed nearly 70,000 people and left five million homeless. The region has been hit by scores of aftershocks, keeping people there on edge.