Eight aftershocks jolted Yushu County in northwest China's Qinghai Province Thursday afternoon, three of which measured above 5 on the Richter scale, the local earthquake administration said.

A 5.3M tremor shook the county at 1:35 PM. China Earthquake Networks Center said the epicenter was 33.3 degrees north latitude and 96.3 degrees east longitude, at a depth of 7 km.

The location is in Longbao Town, about 60 km southwest of the county seat Gyegu Town.

The local government said two ramshackle houses, already damaged in the 7.1M quake on April 14, toppled in Thursday's aftershocks but no casualties had been reported.

Staffers from the Qinghai provincial earthquake administration, who were in Longbao Town for field research, said the tremors sent many locals out of their tents.

But Xinhua reporters in Gyegu Town said the tremors were not felt very clearly there.

A 5.7-magnitude earthquake jolted the same location in Longbao Town on May 29.

From April 14 to May 28, the Tibetan county of Yushu recorded 1,873 aftershocks, of which 15 were above 3 magnitude.

The death toll from the April 14 earthquake has climbed to 2,698, with 270 people still missing.

(Xinhua News Agency June 3, 2010)