A woman was killed after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake at a depth of 18 kilometers, struck Kangding County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The woman in her 70s died at the scene after being hit in the head by falling debris, said Chen Yunbing, a doctor with Ganzi People's Hospital.

The quake struck at 4:55 p.m. Saturday, with its epicenter in Tagong Town, 37 km from the county seat, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

Minor cracks appeared in some airport buildings of the Kangding airport near the epicenter, but flights were not affected, said Tan Heng, a clerk at the airport.

About 100 students were in the Zuqing Primary School in Tagong when the quake happened. Some buildings had cracks but none collapsed and no casualties were reported, said Mao Yu, head of the publicity department of Kangding.

Citizens in Chengdu, the provincial capital, said they felt the quake strongly.

"The house window was shaking fiercely. Some people rushed out of the building," said a woman in Chengdu.

Guo, a Kangding resident, told Xinhua the tremor was powerful and many articles fell to the floor in his home.

The Sichuan Provincial Earthquake Administration launched a Grade I emergency response, the highest, after the quake and has dispatched working teams to Kangding, whose county seat is in a narrow valley with a river flowing through.

Electricity supply was cut off in Tagong Town, the epicenter, said the Sichuan Power Company of the State Grid.

The company has dispatched two working teams and 11 generators to the township.

Ya'an City in Sichuan has dispatched five ambulances and 30 medical workers to the quake-hit areas, said the provincial health department. A medical rescue team in Huaxi Hospital affiliated to Sichuan University is on standby.

A 35-strong rescue team of armed police arrived at Tagong township two hours after the quake occurred.

Some residential buildings had cracks, but no collapse was seen, said Xiang Xuema, head of the police team.

Railway authorities in Chengdu halted passenger trains in affected areas and dispatched workers to check railway facilities.

The quake also affected Zhaodong City in neighboring Yunnan Province.

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