Beijing: An earthquake has struck China's southwestern Yunnan province, killing at least four people and injuring 24 others, according to officials.

One person was trapped in debris, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. It said that rescue and relief teams, including firefighters, have been sent to the quake zone.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the 5-magnitude shallow quake struck Qiaojia county at 9.47 PM on Monday.

The epicentre of the earthquake was at a depth of eight kilometres and it was felt in Qujing city's Huize county as well as in the cities of Zhaotong, Xuanwei and Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture.

The county government of Qiaojia has sent rescuers to 16 townships for rescue and disaster relief assistance.

According to the report, the earthquake has damaged 10 telecom base stations.

The Yunnan provincial disaster reduction committee office and the provincial emergency response department have launched a level-four response for the disaster relief and sent a working group to the disaster area to assist and guide the relief work.

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Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.

Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.

Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.

An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.

The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.

A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.

Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."

"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.

"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.

A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.