Quake rattles southwestern China

BEIJING, China (AP) -- A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck China's southwestern Sichuan province Saturday, state media said.

The earthquake hit 31 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Panzhihua city in the southwestern corner of Sichuan at 4:30 p.m., the official Xinhua News Agency said.

A duty officer at the State Seismology Bureau said the quake occurred in a mountainous area and there were no reports of casualties or aftershocks. He did not want to give his name, as is common with officials in China.

The bureau is still gathering information, he said.

On May 12, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake in northern Sichuan killed nearly 70,000 people and left 5 million homeless. The region has been hit by scores of aftershocks, keeping people there on edge.

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