The China Earthquake Network Center said the first quake struck Lushan County at a depth of 17 km.
Beijing:
At least one person was killed and six others were injured in two earthquakes that struck southwest China on Wednesday.
State broadcaster CCTV said a 6.1-magnitude quake struck a sparsely populated area in Sichuan province, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of the provincial capital Chengdu.
Three minutes later, a second quake of magnitude 4.5 struck, killing one person and injuring six others, according to CCTV.
The report said authorities have sent hundreds of people for search and rescue operations and treatment of the injured.
The China Earthquake Networks Center said the first quake struck at around 5 p.m. in Lushan County, Ya’an City, at a depth of 17 kilometers.
The US Geological Survey said the quake recorded a magnitude of 5.9 and was shallower at a depth of 10 kilometers.
It was felt in cities in Sichuan province, state media reported.
Sichuan officials said there was damage to some buildings but there were no preliminary reports of any structures collapsing.
The mountainous province – a popular tourist destination for China’s giant pandas – is an earthquake prone area.
More than 20 people were injured in an earthquake that struck the border between Sichuan and neighboring Yunnan province in January this year.
Three people were killed and dozens more injured last September, when another shallow earthquake damaged thousands of homes.
In 2008, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck Wenchuan County in Sichuan, killing thousands and causing heavy damage.
Thousands of children died when poorly constructed school buildings collapsed, although the government did not release an exact toll as the issue took on a political dimension.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)