At least five people died and more than 20 were injured after two earthquakes measuring 5.7 and 5.6 on the Richter scale hit a mountainous area of south-western China within an hour on Friday, dpa reported. The first 5.7-magnitude tremor was felt across a wide area of neighbouring Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces at 11:19 am (0319 GMT), the China Earthquake Administration reported on its website. A 5.6-magnitude quake with an almost identical epicentre hit the same area at 12:16 pm. The epicentre of the quakes was about 15 kilometres from Yiliang county town in Yunnan province, the administration said. An official in Yiliang told dpa by telephone that at least five people had died and more than 20 were injured in the county, according to a "preliminary estimate." There were no immediate reports of casualties in other areas of Yunnan or in the two bordering provinces. The official Xinhua news agency said many people had rushed outdoors after the first quake shook buildings in Yunnan's Zhaotong city, which administers Yiliang and is about 30 kilometres from the epicentre. The tremors were also felt in Leshan city in Sichuan province, the agency quoted a local resident as saying.
