Beijing - An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale hit Qingchuan county in south-western China's Sichuan province and nearby areas on Thursday afternoon, injuring at least five people.

The State Seismological Bureau said the quake at 3:09 pm (0709 GMT) mainly affected Qingchuan and the neighbouring county of Ningqiang in Shaanxi province.

At least five people were reported injured in the two counties after the quake, the official Xinhua news agency said without giving further details.

Qingchuan and Ningqiang were hit by the 8.0-magnitude quake in Sichuan on May 12, which killed at least 70,000 people and left nearly 20,000 missing.

Another earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale shook Qingchuan and Ningqiang at 3:54 am (1954 GMT Wednesday), followed by a 4.9-magnitude quake at 1:30 pm (0530 GMT), the bureau said.

The semi-official China News Service quoted an unnamed expert as saying Thursday's three quakes were aftershocks that were considered "normal activity" following the May 12 quake. (dpa)