AN earthquake toppled houses and damaged a hotel and supermarket in China’s extreme southwest near the border with Myanmar on Thursday, killing at least 24 people and injuring more than 207, officials and State media said.

Witnesses reported that people were buried under debris from buildings damaged by the quake, centered in Yunnan Province’s Yingjiang County, Xinhua News Agency said.

China Central Television (CCTV) said the quake hit while many people, including students, were home for a customary midday rest.

The report said at least two students were among those killed, but didn’t give details. The State broadcaster showed several buildings with concrete foundations that had cracked and buckled.

The 5.8-magnitude quake struck just before 1 p.m. at a depth of 10 kilometers.

At least 24 people were killed and 207 others were hurt, said Ren Xueli, an official with the Yunnan Disaster Relief Center.

CCTV reported that about 100 armed police, firefighters and soldiers were using three excavators to try to rescue a man and a girl trapped inside a four-story building that had partially collapsed.

He Shuhui, head of an armed police squad, was quoted as saying they were trapped in a stairway on the ground floor of the building.

Another official on duty at the center, Gao Shaotang, said many houses had been toppled. Xinhua said the army was sending 400 soldiers to the site for rescue efforts.

The epicenter was in Shiming Village, just over a mile from the county seat, but triggered a power outage across Yingjiang, which has a population of 300,000 people.

Xinhua said the quake-prone region has been hit by more than 1,000 minor tremors over the past two months.