An earthquake of 6.1 magnitudes hit Ya’an city in Sichuan province, killing four persons and injuring 14, PTI reported on Wednesday, citing the China Earthquake Networks Centre.

The earthquake struck at a depth of 17 kilometres in the city, which is about 110 kilometres southwest of Sichuan’s capital city of Chengdu, the Associated Press reported.

Earthquakes are common in the mountainous Sichuan province. In 2008, more than 70,000 people were killed after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck the region.

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On Wednesday, the Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management said that an A level-III national emergency response has been activated to mitigate the effects of the calamity.

Over 800 personnel from the emergency rescue team, police, fire department, healthcare sector and public security bureau have been deployed to conduct search operations, repair roads and move the injured and impacted residents to hospitals, PTI reported.