An earthquake of magnitude 6.5 hit China’s southwestern Sichuan province on Tuesday evening, the United State’s Geological Survey said. The China Earthquake Network Center, however, recorded quake of magnitude 7.0. There were no immediate reports of damage.

The temblor first struck in a sparsely populated area about 200 km from Guangyuan city. The epicentre was at a depth of 10 km in the Ngawa prefecture, the local administration said.

Earthquakes are common in the mountainous Sichuan province. In 2008, nearly 70,000 people were killed in a massive quake.