CHENGDU (XINHUA, AP) - One person was killed and 29 others were injured after a 5.4-magnitude earthquake jolted south-west China's Sichuan Province early Sunday (Sept 8), the local government said.

The injured people have been hospitalised, and two of them are in serious condition, the emergency management bureau of the city of Neijiang in Weiyuan county, where the quake occurred, said.

At least 17 houses collapsed and another 215 were damaged in the earthquake, the bureau said.

The epicentre, with a depth of 10km, was monitored at 29.5 degrees north latitude and 104.79 degrees east longitude, according to the China Earthquake Networks Centre (CENC).

Rescue operations are ongoing.

Earthquakes occur frequently in the area, which lies in the eastern slope of the Tibetan plateau.