Photo/Xinhua

A total of 65 people have been killed in a 6.8-magnitude earthquake that jolted Luding County in southwest China's Sichuan Province on Monday, local authorities said Tuesday.

Thirty-seven people were killed in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and the other 28 died in Shimian County of Ya'an City.

As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, 12 people were missing and 170 were found injured in Ganzi, including 56 seriously injured. A total of 78 people were injured in Shimian County as of 5:50 a.m. Tuesday.

The earthquake struck Luding County at 12:52 p.m. Monday (Beijing Time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

Sichuan has activated the highest level of emergency response for the earthquake. 

Email: tanyuhan@nbd.com.cn