Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- At least one person died when an earthquake of magnitude 6.1 struck in China's southwestern province of Sichuan, where residents are still recovering from a May 12 temblor that killed more than 69,000 people.

At least 23 other people were hurt in today's quake, five of them seriously, China's state-run Xinhua news service said. The temblor, centered in Qingchuan County near the border with Gansu province, was an aftershock from the magnitude-7.9 earthquake in May, Xinhua cited the China Earthquake Networks Center as saying. Earlier, the U.S. Geological Survey said today's quake, which took place at 5:49 p.m. local time, was of magnitude 6.

The latest temblor occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles), USGS said on its Web site. It was centered about 50 kilometers north-northwest of Guangyuan in Sichuan, and 370 kilometers north-northwest of Chongqing, the agency said.

The quake was felt in Chengdu, Sichuan's capital, where a relay for the Olympic torch had just finished, Xinhua said. The relay was the final leg before the torch reaches Beijing, where the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games will take place Aug. 8.

Today's quake also was felt in the cities of Hanzhong and Xian in Shaanxi province, where many people rushed out into the streets, Xinhua reported. Chongqing also felt the quake, the news agency said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Belinda Cao in Beijing at lcao4@bloomberg.net; Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 5, 2008 09:46 EDT