Chinese authorities say an earthquake has toppled hundreds of homes and buildings and killed at least 24 people in southwestern Yunnan province, close to the border with Burma.
State-run media say more than 200 others were injured when the quake struck shortly after midday Thursday in Yingjiang county. There were no immediate reports on the impact of the quake in Burma.
Photographs from the scene showed police and rescue workers clawing through wreckage to pull survivors from the rubble. Parts of a supermarket and a hotel caved in, and video showed rows of injured people placed on blankets lining city sidewalks.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the 5.4-magnitude earthquake was centered about 250 kilometers southwest of the city of Dali in Yunnan, and about 350 kilometers northeast of the Burmese city of Mandalay. It said the quake occurred at a depth of about 35 kilometers, but Chinese reports said the depth was only 10 kilometers.
The official Xinhua news agency describes the geology of the area as a quake-prone belt that has seen more than 1,000 tremors in recent months.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
