Shallow 5.3 quake shakes southwest China

A shallow 5.3 earthquake shook China's southwest Sichuan Province on Saturday, less than a week after a larger quake in the same region killed 13 and left dozens injured.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the earthquake that occured at about 10.30 pm (local time) at a depth of 10 kilometres (6 miles), according to the US Geological Survey.

It hit about 18 kilometres east of the town of Xunchang and 43 kilometres southeast of Yibin city, which has a population of some 250,000 people, USGS said.

An earthquake near Yibin struck on Monday, forcing more than 8,000 people to relocate as a large number of structures were damaged or collapsed.

State TV showed rescuers dragging survivors to safety from rubble, while cracks appeared in several roads and a major highway was closed.

Earthquakes regularly strike Sichuan, where a powerful 7.9-magnitude quake left 87,000 people dead or missing in 2008.