State media in China now says at least 150 people have been killed after an earthquake which hit the south-west of the country.

The quake is reported to have toppled more than 12,000 homes in Yunnan province.

The US Geological Survey said it had a 6.3 magnitude, while China Earthquake Networks Centre measured it at 6.5.

The epicentre was in the town of Longtoushan where one official was quoted as saying: "Too many buildings were damaged."

Ma Liya, a resident of Ludian county, which was a few miles away, said the streets were like a "battlefield after bombardment".

She added that her neighbour's house, a new two-storey building, had toppled.

The earthquake hit at a depth of six miles at about 4.30pm (9.30am Irish time).

Pictures posted online by state media showed troops taking people away on stretchers.

Photos on the Chinese social media site Weibo showed several people apparently injured amid toppled bricks.

Power lines and communications have been badly affected by the strongest earthquake to hit Yunnan in 14 years.

In 1970, a magnitude-7.7 earthquake in Yunnan killed at least 15,000 people, and a magnitude-7.1 quake in the province killed more than 1,400 in 1974.

In September 2012, 81 people died and 821 were injured in a series of quakes in the region.