BEIJING — China on Sept 5 earmarked 50 million yuan (about $7.25 million) from its central natural-disaster relief funds to support rescue and relief work following a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in Southwest China's Sichuan province.

The emergency funds were jointly allocated by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management.

The funds will be used for emergency rescue and disaster relief efforts, focusing on searching, rescuing and relocating the disaster-stricken people, detecting secondary disasters, and repairing damaged houses, among other tasks.

Relief supplies, including some 3,000 tents and 10,000 folding beds, were allocated to Luding county, where the epicenter was located.

The Ministry of Emergency Management has sent more than 1,100 rescue-team personnel and a helicopter to the site, while over 3,600 rescuers from neighboring regions are on standby.

As of 18:00 pm, a total of 21 people had been killed by the earthquake.