A fresh aftershock measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale hit Lixian, Sichuan Province, on Friday afternoon, cutting off roads and just-repaired telecommunication.

A number of vehicles were buried in landslides triggered by the aftershock. The casualties were not known yet, four Xinhua reporters reported on site via satellite phone.

The aftershock at 1:25 PM caused the mountains around the county seat of Lixian to tremble, with the sky being suffused with dust in the coming few hours, which "lasts even longer than Monday's earthquake," local people told the Xinhua reporters.

The four Xinhua reporters survived a collapsed building and lost touch with each other for a while.

(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2008)