One person died and 49 were injured when a tornado moving at 100 km per hour hit the inland Lingbi County in east China's Anhui Province on Friday afternoon.

The tornado blasted several villages at 2:20 p.m. and lasted about two minutes. Local resident Xu Wencai, 76, died of injuries on the way to hospital, according the disaster relief office of the provincial government.

It also toppled more than 300 houses and damaged 500 others.

Economic losses from the tornado were still being calculated.

(Xinhua News Agency June 21, 2008)