The death toll has risen to 43 after two earthquakes of magnitude 5.7 and 5.6 hit a mountainous area of south-western China's Yunnan province, dpa reported.
The epicentre of the quakes was in Yunnan's Yiliang county, about 15 kilometres from the county town, where an official told dpa by telephone that the death toll had hit 43 with about 150 injured by late afternoon.
The provincial civil affairs bureau said more than 100,000 people were evacuated after the quake damaged or destroyed some 20,000 houses in Yunnan.