Three people were reported to be injured in the moderate earthquake jolting southern Gansu, northwest China, in the wee hours on Wednesday, with Linjiang and Liping townships in Wenxian County being the worst hit.

Besides, five houses were toppled in the two townships, according to Yue Jinlin, secretary of the Wenxian County Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

However, details of the earthquake-inflicted damages and direct economic losses are still unknown and being investigated, said Yue.

Chinese seismological network has monitored that an earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale struck southern Gansu Province in northwest China at about 0:52 hours (Beijing time) on Wednesday.

The epicenter was determined to be located at 33.1 degrees north latitude and 105 degrees east longitude, about 30 km east to the seats of Wenxian and Wudu counties, both in southern Gansu.

Gansu Provincial Seismic Bureau launched an earthquake emergency response mechanism shortly after the quake by sending three separate working teams consisting of seismic specialists to carry out on-the-spot investigations and tightening monitoring efforts in the quake-stricken areas.

Party and governmental departments at Longnan City and Wenxian County have also dispatched working teams to Linjiang and Liping to organize relief efforts.

(Xinhua News Agency June 21, 2006)