China rocked by two separate earthquakes

Medical workers treat a woman after an earthquake in Yangbi Yi (Xinhua/AP)

At least three people have died and more than two dozen others were injured after an earthquake shook south-western China near the border with Myanmar, while a separate 7.3-magnitute quake collapsed a bridge and caused other damage in central China.

The second quake hit the southern part of Qinghai province, about 621 miles north of the first quake in Yunnan province.

US Geological Survey geophysicist Jonathan Tytell said the two quakes were not related.

The Qinghai tremor was followed by 453 aftershocks throughout the early morning into midday, according to the official People’s Daily newspaper. At least eight people were injured.

People stand on a street after an earthquake in Xining in north-western China’s Qinghai Province (Xinhua/AP)

While no deaths have been reported so far in Qinghai province, the quakes tore up roads and bridges, with one collapsing completely.

The Yunnan province seismological bureau gave the magnitude of the Friday night quake as 6.4 and said it struck five miles below the surface north-west of the city of Dali.

Shallow quakes often cause more damage, especially in populated areas.

The earthquake caused strong shaking around Dali, but Chinese news reports showed relatively little damage.

Rescue personnel carry supplies after an earthquake in Yangbi Yi in south-western China’s Yunnan Province (Xinhua/AP)

Three people died and 28 were injured, the Yunan province’s publicity department said.

Relief efforts are under way, with the provincial authorities sending emergency rations and tents to the affected areas.

In Qinghai, authorities set up temporary safety shelters due to continuous aftershocks.

Last year, a magnitude 5 earthquake in Yunnan killed four people and injured 23.

China’s worst earthquake in recent years struck the mountainous western portion of Sichuan province to the north of Yunnan in 2008, killing nearly 90,000 people.