At least 22 people have been killed and more than 100 injured after an earthquake struck southwest China.

The earthquake, measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale, hit 50km southeast of Panzhihua city in the southwestern corner of Sichuan province on Saturday.

More than 1,000 homes were destroyed by the quake and about 400 suffered damage, China's Xinhua state media reported.

Rescue workers heading to the region have been hampered by the rugged conditions in the area as well as heavy rains.

Seventeen people were killed and about 100 injured in Sichuan while five residents died and 26 were hurt in the neighbouring Yunnan province, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Parts of Sichuan province were devastated by an earthquake that killed about 70,000 people in May.

The province has struggled to rebuild after the disaster which left at least 10 million people homeless.

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