175 killed in China quake

BEIJING, Aug 3 (Agencies):  A strong earthquake in southern China's Yunnan province has killed at least 175 people and injured more than 1,400.

China's official Xinhua News Agency says at least 150 people died in Sunday's quake. Yunnan province's information bureau says at least 120 of the dead were in densely populated Ludian county, with another 180 missing and 1,300 people injured there. Yunnan's seismological bureau says another 24 people died and more than 100 were injured in Qiaojia county.

The US Geological Survey says the magnitude-6.1 quake struck at 4:30 p.m. at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles).

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the quake was the strongest to hit Yunnan in 14 years.

The quake in Zhaotong prefecture, in the province's northeast, toppled buildings and left residents frantically searching for survivors beneath the rubble, images on social media showed.

"Too many buildings were damaged and we are collecting data on deaths and injuries," Xinhua quoted a local official as saying from the township of Longtoushan, at the epicentre of the quake.

China News Service, the country's second state news agency, said more than 1,300 people had been injured and 12,000 houses had collapsed.