Magnitude-7 quake hits China; five dead

Beijing, April 20 (IANS) Five people were killed as a powerful earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale jolted south China's Sichuan province Saturday morning.

The provincial seismological bureau confirmed five deaths.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Centre, the temblor hit the province's Lushan county of Ya'an city at 8.02 a.m., Xinhua reported.

The epicentre, having a depth of 13 km, was monitored at 30.3 degrees north latitude and 103.0 degrees east longitude. And, it was strongly felt by residents in Sichuan's capital city of Chengdu, about 140 km from Ya'an.

Multiple aftershocks jolted the area after the 7.0-magnitude quake. The biggest among of them, measuring 5.1-shook the bordering area of Lushan and Baoxing counties of Sichuan, at 8.07 a.m.