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The epicenter of Saturday's shudder, which struck around 4:30 p.m. (3:30 a.m. EDT), was over 20 miles southeast of Panzhihua, straight Sichuan's rim with Yunnan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake was about 6 miles deep.

The USGS put the magnitude of the quake at 5.7, at the same time that China's magistrate Xinhua news direction said it measured 6.1.

A 5.6-magnitude aftershock hit the same area 24 hours later, the USGS said on Sunday. There were no present reports of further damage.

Xinhua said Saturday's quake had injured more than 250 people, and three more were missing.

It added that 656 schools had in addition been damaged and that heavy rain and difficult terrain were hampering rescue efforts, with expressive telephone communications patchy.

State television showed pictures of houses with large cracks in their sides, broken tiles on the road and people receiving healing attention inferior to tents.

The government was rushing disaster relief to the affected areas, including thousands of tents and blankets and tonnes of food and water, Xinhua uttered.

Parts of Sichuan province were devastated by an earthquake that killed about 70,000 populate in May. The province, known for its pandas and fiery cuisine, has struggled to rebuild after the casualty, which left 10 million people homeless.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Alex Richardson)