At least 7 people were killed after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit China’s Sichuan province on Monday.

The China Earthquake Networks Centre said that the epicentre of the quake, which occurred at 12:25 pm local time, was monitored at 29.59 degrees north latitude and 102.08 degrees east longitude at a depth of 16 kilometres.

The tremor was felt in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, which is 226 km away from the epicentre. Photos and videos posted on Chinese social media showed buildings shaking in Chengdu.

More than 500 rescue personnel have been dispatched to the epicentre, state broadcaster CGTN reported, adding that "several aftershocks have been recorded in nearby areas".

This earthquake is considered as the most powerful since 2013 in Sichuan, as Chengdu, the provincial capital, and Xian and Changsha felt the shaking.

Sichuan province is located adjacent to Tibet. The Tibetan plateau is known to be prone to heavy earthquakes as it sits right over the place where the tectonic Eurasian and Indian plates meet, often colliding with huge force.