258,000 homes destroyed in China quake

BEIJING // Chinese rescue teams rushed to reach survivors of an earthquake that killed at least 32 people, turned hundreds of thousands of homes into rubble and cracked reservoirs. The 6.1-magnitude quake struck Sichuan province along the same fault line as a May 12 earthquake that killed nearly 70,000. Saturday's quake killed 27 people in Sichuan and five in the neighbouring province of Yunnan, the official Xinhua News Agency said today.

The quake destroyed 258,000 homes, damaged major bridges and cracked three reservoirs, the agency said. Another 467 people were injured after the earthquake hit 50km South-east of Panzhihua city in the South-western corner of Sichuan. Yesterday, China Central Television showed dozens of evacuees gathered at a primary school field in Panzhihua. Wrapped in quilts, the evacuees, including children and the elderly, lay on plastic sheets and mats on the ground.

About 152,000 people were evacuated and relief efforts were under way, despite being hampered by heavy rains and the region's rugged terrain. About 6,200 tents, 3,500 quilts and 25,000kg of rice has been sent to the quake zone. Since the 7.9-magnitude May 12 quake, the region has been hit by scores of aftershocks. A woman at the Sichuan provincial seismological bureau said the region was hit by about 300 aftershocks yesterday morning.

The China Earthquake Administration recorded a 5.6-magnitude aftershock yesterday in the same location as Saturday's quake. * AP