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BEIJING: A powerful aftershock rocked southwest China's Sichuan province on Sunday, one day after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake left at least 28 people dead and about 350 injured, state media reported.
The aftershock, with a magnitude of 5.6, struck the area near the city of Panzhihua, the same region hit by Saturday's deadly quake, the US Geological Survey said.
Rescue teams rushed to bring tents, food and water to survivors, as well as to help evacuate more than 30,000 people from Panzhihua after up to 300 aftershocks rattled the area, the official Xinhua news agency said.
The area was southwest of the region devastated by a massive earthquake in May that left nearly 88,000 people dead or missing.
Twenty people were confirmed dead in Huili county outside Panzhihua following Saturday's quake, while three were killed in the city itself and five more died in Yunnan province to the south, according to Xinhua.
Damages from Sunday's large aftershock were not immediately reported by the state press.
State television showed large swathes of collapsed homes in mountainous regions with debris and mud spread over a wide area.
The government has initiated an emergency response, trucking in rescue workers including military, police and fire brigades, as rains in the region hampered search efforts, it said.
Rescuers worked to dig out survivors throughout Sunday, with Xinhua reporting that firemen had successfully located and pulled out four people buried by a collapsed wall in a Huili village.
Many dirt roads in mountainous areas were blocked by the quake with rescue teams clearing debris in order to reach remote villages and assess damages, it said.
Up to 10 reservoirs in the region were damaged, as were several major roads, rail links and power lines, it added.
As many as 130,000 homes were damaged or collapsed in Yunnan province, while over 38,000 residences were damaged in Panzhihua, Xinhua said.
- AFP/so
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