An earthquake struck China's far south west today, killing at least 13 people and injuring more than 125, an official said.

Witnesses reported that part of a supermarket collapsed in the magnitude 5.8 quake, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

At least 13 people were killed and 126 hurt, said an official with the Yunnan Disaster Relief Centre.

Another official on duty at the centre, Gao Shaotang, said many houses had been toppled.

The website of the government earthquake monitoring station said the tremor struck in Yunnan at a depth of 6 miles.

The US Geological Survey put the quake's magnitude at 5.4. Quakes of magnitude 5 or more are capable of causing damage.

The epicentre is in a mountainous area 1,500 miles south west of Beijing, close to the border with Burma.

Officials said later that the quake had killed at least 14 people and injured more than 150.

Witnesses reported that people were buried under debris from buildings damaged by the quake, centred in Yingjiang county, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The epicentre was in Shiming Village, just over a mile from the county seat, but triggered a power outage across Yingjiang, Xinhua said.