Seventeen people have so far been killed and 20 others seriously injured in an earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale Saturday in a region between Jiujiang and Ruichang in east China's Jiangxi Province.

Information from the State Seismic Bureau said five of the death toll occurred in Ruichang City, and seven in Jiujiang, where 20 people were also seriously injured, and two more in Wuxue, a city facing Jiujiang across the Yangtze River in central China's Hubei Province.

The quake was also felt in northern Jiangxi Province, eastern Hubei Province, southern Anhui Province, northwestern Zhejiang Province and northeastern Hunan Province.

China National Seismic Observation Network monitored a quake jolted northern Jiangxi around 8:49 a.m. Saturday, with the epicenter being located at 29.7 degree north latitude, 115.7 degree east longitude.

The State Seismic Bureau sent two work teams to give guidance to rescue operation in the quake-hit area. Teams dispatched by local seismic bureaux of Jiangxi, Hubei and Fujian provinces are also on their way to the quake-stricken region to render help.

(Xinhua News Agency November 27, 2005)