One person was killed and at least 25 people were injured and hundreds of houses were toppled when an earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale rattled northwestern China's Gansu Province.

The quake hit Minxian County in Gansu Province Tuesday evening. Eight seriously hurt people were hospitalized.

The earthquake affected more than 100,000 people, damaging more than 3,800 houses and destroying at least 600.

Officials said it was difficult to estimate the real impact as many villages in the area were in high-altitude regions with no road access.

In November last year a quake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale struck the same area. One child was killed and 30 people were injured.

(Xinhua News Agency & China News Service September 9, 2004)