Rescue efforts are ongoing after a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Sichuan province in southwest China late Monday night, local government officials said. 

The death toll had risen to 12 on Tuesday, with 135 injured, and more than 4,000 locals having to relocate due to the quake.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the earthquake struck at a depth of 16 kilometers (10 miles). Its epicenter was located outside Yibin, a city with a population of over 4.4 million.

China's official Xinhua news agency reported that a hotel in Changning county had collapsed. 

A number of other structures were also damaged as mud and rock slipped down from a hill, blocking a road and encompassing a truck, as seen on state broadcaster CCTV.

The national broadcaster also had footage of rescuers pulling a survivor out of another collapsed building on a stretcher.

The area was hit by a series of aftershocks, the largest of which had a magnitude of over 5.0. 

Xinhua reported that rescue efforts were underway. Rescue personnel and some 300 firefighters were sent to the area to provide aid and shelter to victims.

Read more: Scores feared dead as strong quakes hit China's southwest and northwest regions

Earthquakes regularly strike Sichuan, where a powerful 7.9-magnitude quake left 87,000 people dead or missing in 2008.

jsi, wmr/ng (AP, AFP)

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