Rescue under way after Yunnan quake injures 29

Rescue work is under way after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake jolted a county in southwest China's Yunnan province, leaving 29 people injured, including five in serious condition, local authorities said Friday.

The quake hit Yingjiang county under Dai-Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture of Dehong at 9:20 am, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

Tremors were strongly felt in the county seat, where residents rushed to open areas.

According to a statement from the provincial civil affairs department, the quake has cut off electricity in Kachang township and Mengnong and Sudian villages, though communications have not been affected.

As of 11 am, a total of 41 aftershocks with a magnitude up to 5.1 had been recorded, according to the Yunnan Seismic Bureau.

The Yunnan government has initiated a grade II emergency response, sending a work team of over 50 people for surveying, investigation and disaster evaluation.

The Yunnan Military Area has mobilized over 1,000 soldiers to join in the rescue work, while 1,000 more military officers are preparing to join the efforts.

Police have been sent to the township of Kachang, which is close to the epicenter, according to local publicity officials.

More than 360 teachers and students from Wupai Primary School in Kachang township have been relocated to safety zones.

The school was seriously damaged in a 5.6-magnitude quake that hit the same region a week ago, with some classrooms becoming unusable because of broken doors and windows and cracks on the walls. Students had been moved to tents to continue their studies.

"Some classroom walls, already damaged in last week's earthquake, just collapsed this time," said the school headmaster, Ke Shangfa.

In Longdong Village, which was badly hit by the quake, a team of 150 armed police had retrieved six villagers trapped under collapsed houses as of 11 a.m.

The provincial government has sent tents, quilts, folded beds and mattresses to the disaster-stricken region.

Yunnan lies where the Eurasian Plate and Indian Plate meet, and the province is prone to quakes.

Yingjiang borders Myanmar and has a population of 300,000. In March 2011, the county was jolted by a 5.8-magnitude quake, leaving 26 people dead and over 300 others injured.