BEIJING — A strong earthquake hit Sichuan province in southern China late Monday night and some people were injured, officials and news reports said.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake measured magnitude 5.9 and hit about 12 miles from the city of Changning in Sichuan. It was centered at a fairly shallow depth of 6 miles, it said. Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage to buildings and infrastructure.

The USGS warned there could casualties and significant damage.

The Beijing Youth Daily said some people had been injured, but that could not be immediately confirmed. The emergency management ministry said firefighters have been sent to the area as rescuers.

A 1976 earthquake centered in the northeastern city of Tangshan killed at least 250,000 people. China’s worst earthquake in recent years struck the mountainous western portion of Sichuan province in 2008, killing nearly 90,000 people. That earthquake was about 250 miles from Monday’s quake.

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