Moderate quake in southwest China kills 18

Shanghai, July 22: A moderate earthquake in China's southwestern Yunnan province today toppled scores of houses and killed at least 18 people, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The 5.1 earthquake, which struck a mountainous area close to the border with Sichuan province, injured 60 people, Xinhua quoted officials in the Zhaotong municipal government as saying.

The epicentre of the quake was about 90 km from Yunnan's Zhaotong city, Xinhua said, adding that several hundred workers had joined the rescue effort.

Houses in Yanjin, a county on the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau with a population of 350,000, were mostly built near hillsides and vulnerable to earthquakes, Xinhua said, citing experts with the seismological bureau.

Reuters