BEIJING: A 4.6-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern China on Monday, the US Geological Survey said, near the epicentre of last year's massive quake that left more than 87,000 people dead or missing.

The quake hit at 3:25 pm (0725 GMT) in Sichuan province, at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), the USGS said.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, the state-run China News Service said.

State media said the epicentre of the quake was in Wenchuan county, epicentre of the 8.0-magnitude quake on May 12 of last year.

The provincial seismological network said the quake measured 4.8 on the Richter scale, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

- AFP/yb