DHAKA: At least 175 people have been killed and some 1,300 injured after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck in south-west China.

China state media say, reports the BBC.

The US Geological Survey said the quake struck about 11km north-west of Wenping in Yunnan province at 16:30 local time (08:30 GMT).

A major rescue and relief operation is under way.

State broadcaster CCTV said the earthquake was the strongest to hit the province in 14 years.

The USGS said the quake struck at a depth of about 10km in a remote mountainous area in Yunnan province.

The tremor was also felt in the neighbouring provinces of Guizhou and Sichuan.

Xinhua said about 12,000 homes had collapsed in Ludian, a county of some 439,000 people, north-east of Yunnan province's capital, Kunming.

All of the casualties reported so far are in Qiaojia County of the Zhaotong region, which appeared to be the hardest hit.

Ma Liya, a resident of Zhaotong, told Xinhua that the streets there were like ‘battlefield after bombardment’, adding her neighbour's house, a new two-storey building, had collapsed.

The government is sending 2,000 tents, 3,000 folding beds, 3,000 quilts and 3,000 coats to the disaster zone, the report said.

BDST: 2102 HRS, AUG 03, 2014