Three powerful aftershocks hit southwest China's earthquake area on Thursday, killing at least one person, injuring 17 others and inflicting damage on about 1,200 houses.

More than 69,000 people have been confirmed dead and some 18,000 are still listed as missing after the 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit the mountainous province of Sichuan on May 12.

It was the deadliest quake in the country since 1976.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, three tremors measuring 5.6, 4.9 and 6.0 on the Richter scale hit the juncture of Ningqiang County in Shaanxi Province and Qingchuan County in Sichuan Province early yesterday morning and in the afternoon.

They were felt in the cities of Guangyuan, Chengdu, Mianyang, Deyang and Leshan of Sichuan.

The center also monitored aftershocks below magnitude 4.0, but no numbers were made available.

In the Lizhou District of Guangyuan, a woman, 60, died of a cerebral hemorrhage after she panicked during the strong tremors.

A 24-year-old man was seriously injured after jumping from a two-story building.

In Chaotian District, the aftershocks left 14 people injured, five of them severely. The aftershocks also destroyed 45 houses.

In Qingchuan County, two people were injured and 1,160 houses collapsed. Another 1,500 houses were damaged. As of yesterday, Qingchuan had survived 18,000 aftershocks, 42 of them above magnitude 4.0, nine above 5.0 and three above 6.0.

The Sichuan Provincial Earthquake Bureau has sent two teams to stricken areas for relief work.

Government officials have warned of an arduous reconstruction task, which includes housing millions of displaced and impoverished residents and rebuilding the local economy.

(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2008)