Three Dead As Strong Earthquake Hits Southwest China

BEIJING, Aug 10 (AFP) - An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale rocked southwest China Tuesday leaving three people dead and more than 250 injured, officials said.
The quake hit Ludian County in Yunnan province at 6:26 pm (1026 GMT Tuesday), some 255 kilometres (408 miles) north of the provincial capital Kunming, Xinhua news agency quoted the State Seismological Bureau as saying.
A duty staff member at the State Seismological Bureau told AFP there were so far three deaths and more than 250 people injured.
He said more injuries are expected, adding that houses have been damaged, although there no further details were immediately available.
It is the third earthquake to hit Ludian County in a year.
Two earthquakes measuring 5.1 and 5.0 on the Richter scale hit the county on November 15 and 26, 2003, killing four and injuring 120.