(Photo : The Scene of Resuce)

Just four days since a 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit the areas of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, another big earthquake hit the same area leaving five dead and more than a couple of dozen more injured. Around 8:00am local time, the earthquake shook Deqen and Shangri-La counties and Derong county near Sichuan's Garze, both which are located in the Tibetan autonomous prefecture.

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According to reports from the Diqing's rescue head office, the area also experience around 260 aftershocks by 4:00pm local time, the most severe of which was estimated to be 4.9 in strength.

By noon time, the rescue teams have already sent aid in such as 9,500 coats, 7,000 temporary beds and cushions, and 6,000 tents, that is according to the Diqing local authorities' reports. The local government of the nearby city Lijiang also sent out aids such as coats and quilts which were severely needed by the victims of the calamity.

Firefighters from Diqing immediately went to the area identified as the epicenter which was the villages of Deqen's Duotong and Shangri-La's Xingfu. At the scene they were able to save six people who were stranded.

The provincial police of Sichuan sent around 125 personnel, along with four search and rescue canines to the area.

The Yunnan Earthquake Bureau spokesperson Li Fei reported that the hit locations were the fault lines of Deqing-Zhongdian, was fortunately lightly populated with only around eight persons for every square kilometer. He also added that only a few fatalities in the areas near river valleys and up in the mountains.

Of those who were injured, 17 of them were taken to be treated at the Shangri-La People's Hospital. There were seven injured travelers from the province of Gansu and the autonomous region of Tibet.

The roads and highways near the epicenter have already been cleared of landslides, and vehicles are now able to pass.