Beijing, Sep 5 (IANS): A strong earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale jolted Luding county in China's Sichuan province on Monday, authorities said.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Centre (CENC), the epicentre of the quake that struck at 12.52 p.m. was monitored at 29.59 degrees north latitude and 102.08 degrees east longitude, at a depth of 16 km, reports Xinhua news agency.

The epicentre is 39 km away from the county seat of Luding and there are several villages within the 5-km range.

The tremor was felt in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, which is 226 km away from the epicentre.

A level-III national emergency response for earthquake has been activated, the Ministry of Emergency Management said, adding that a team has been dispatched.

A total of 30 firefighters at Luding have rushed to the epicentre to assess the situation, while 530 quake relief personnel from other regions in Sichuan are heading to the quake site, the Ministry said.

There were no immediate reports of any damages or casualties.