As reported by CCTV+, on Monday, early in the morning, a 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck Liuzhou City in the southern part of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Local authorities reported that three people are missing and four others have been hospitalized.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the earthquake occurred in the Liunan District at 00:21 at a depth of eight kilometers. A total of five earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 2.2 to 3.2 occurred before and after the main quake.

As of 04:00 Monday, the earthquake caused the collapse of 13 buildings. More than 7,000 residents have been evacuated.

Rescue operations are being carried out by emergency services, firefighters and police. The Guangxi regional earthquake response headquarters declared a Level 3 emergency at 02:00.

The Office of the State Council Earthquake Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management activated a Level 4 emergency and dispatched a working group to the affected area on Monday to support local earthquake relief efforts.

The hardest-hit area is Shangdeng Village in Taiyangcun Township, Liunan District, where several buildings have been reduced to rubble. Rescuers are currently conducting search and rescue operations in the debris. Authorities have confirmed that the three missing persons are trapped under the rubble.

The seismic event also triggered a landslide on a section of the Liuzhou ring road in Taiyangcun Township, blocking traffic on this important thoroughfare and forcing motorists to find alternative routes.