UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday expressed sadness and sympathy for the victims of an earthquake that hit southwest China earlier Monday.

"I want to ... express my sadness and sympathy for the victims of today's earthquake in southwest China," Ban told a press conference. "We do not yet know the extent of the tragedy, but you have seen the reports of the hundreds of students trapped at a local university and potentially many others are dead."

"The United Nations' and my thoughts are very much with them and their families," Ban said.

The quake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, struck at 2:28 PM (0628GMT) Monday, according to the China Seismological Bureau. Its epicenter was located in Wenchuan County of southwestern Sichuan Province.

The quake has killed 8,533 people in Sichuan alone and many others in some other provinces, according to local government sources.

(Xinhua News Agency May 13, 2008)