The death toll from Tuesday's strong aftershock in southwest China's Sichuan Province had risen to three, local disaster relief headquarters said on Wednesday.

The aftershock, measuring magnitude 6.1, hit Yaodu Township of Qingchuan County at at 5:49 p.m. on Tuesday, causing two deaths and 29 injuries, the provincial disaster relief headquarters announced on Wednesday.

It destroyed more than 2,700 houses in the county.

In neighboring Gansu Province, the tremor left one person dead and six seriously injured in Wenxian County of Longnan City, said a provincial civil affairs department official on Wednesday.

The disaster also damaged highways and bridges in the city.

Both Qingchuan and Longnan were severely hit by the May 12 magnitude 8 earthquake, centered on Wenchuan County in Sichuan.

The China Earthquake Networks Center said Tuesday's aftershock emanated from about 10 km underground. The tremor was felt in the cities of Hanzhong and Xi'an, both in Shaanxi, as well as Chongqing, prompting many people to flee their buildings.

(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2008)