CHENGDU — A 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Luding county, Southwest China's Sichuan province, at 12:52 pm on Sept 5 (Beijing Time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

The epicenter was monitored at 29.59 degrees north latitude and 102.08 degrees east longitude, at a depth of 16 km, the CENC said.

The epicenter is 39 km away from the county seat of Luding and there are several villages within the 5-km range around the epicenter.

The tremor was felt in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, which is 226 km away from the epicenter.

A level-III national emergency response for earthquake has been activated, the Ministry of Emergency Management said on Sept 5, adding that a work team has been dispatched to guide and assist the emergency response and rescue efforts.

A total of 30 firefighters at Luding have rushed to the epicenter to assess the situation, while 530 quake relief personnel from other regions in Sichuan are heading to the epicenter, the ministry said.