33 Injured In China Quake

At least 33 people have been injured in a 6.1 magnitude earthquake, which struck southwestern China near the border with Myanmar.

Residents fled buildings and students evacuated schools that had already been damaged by a quake in the same area last week.

Five of the injured people were in serious condition, said a woman at the Yunnan provincial earthquake monitoring bureau, who gave only her surname, Xu.

The quake in Yunnan’s Yingjiang county, which was registered at magnitude 6.1 by China’s earthquake monitoring agency, as however put at 5.9 by the US Geological Survey.

Electricity was cut to some areas in the quake zone, but communications were not affected.

More than 1000 soldiers were helping rescue efforts, and tents and bedding were sent to aid survivors.

About 300,000 people live in the area.

A tremor lasting a few seconds was felt in Myitkyina, the capital of Myanmar’s northeastern state of Kachin, and in the town of Bhamo, according to people reached there by phone. There were however no reports of injuries or damage there.

China’s mountainous southwest suffers frequent earthquakes.