Five injured in southwest China earthquake

Five people were injured after a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck southwest China's Yunnan province early Saturday morning, local authorities confirmed.

The tremor struck at 2:43 am at Jinggu County, Pu'er City. The epicenter was monitored at 23.3 degrees north latitude and 100.5 degrees east longitude. The quake hit at a depth of 9 kilometers, according to China Earthquake Networks Center.

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.

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.