Beijing  - A lake is threatening to burst its banks in the quake-hit south-western Chinese province of Sichuan, the official Xinhua news agency reported Saturday, citing soldiers working to rescue people in Beichuan county.

"Forty-six seriously injured people need to be evacuated immediately in Beichuan county at the epicentre of the Sichuan quake, where the water level of a lake is rising rapidly, and the lake may burst at any time," the report said.

No further details were given, and it was not clear which lake was meant.

In the countryside above Beichuan there were landslides after Monday's 7.8-magnitude earthquake which blocked a river and caused a lake to form. Experts have already travelled to the lake to assess the danger.

It was also unclear whether more people would have to be evacuated and how large the area at risk is. (dpa)