5.6-magnitude earthquake hits Southwest China's Sichuan

CHENGDU - A 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit Shiqu county in the Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Garze, Southwest China's Sichuan province, at 8:23 pm Wednesday Beijing Time, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

Qin Liuxin, deputy head of the emergency management bureau of Shiqu, said no casualties were reported yet, and officials have been dispatched to evaluate the situations in villages and townships.

A citizen living in Shiqu told Xinhua over the phone that mild tremors were felt and the ceiling lamps were gently shaking during the quake.

The quake struck at a depth of 10 km. The local government said the epicenter is sparsely populated and has an average elevation of 4,661 meters in the surrounding areas.