Quake jolts Southwest China

JINGGU, Yunnan -- The number of injured people in the 5.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Southwest China's Yunnan province early Saturday morning has risen to seven as of 9 am, local authorities confirmed.

Their injuries were described as minor, according to the press office of Jinggu county, Pu'er City.

The tremor that jolted Jinggu County at 2:43 am also toppled down 12 houses, cutting roads and damaging other public facilities.

Zhang Jianguo, of Yunnan Disaster Prevention Research Institute, believed the quake a strong aftershock of an earlier one on Oct 7 that killed one person and injured more than 300. Epicenters of the two quakes were 10 kilometers apart.

"After the previous quake, people at the zone were evacuated," he said, adding that the aftershock would not result in heavy casualties.

The quake hit at a depth of 9 kilometers, according to China Earthquake Networks Center.

Xinhua reporters felt strong shake on the 12th floor of a hotel in Jianggu. The tremor lasted for less than one minute. But it didn't cause apparent panic among the population.