At least five people were killed Thursday when an earthquake struck China's extreme southwest near the border with Myanmar, an official said.

At least eight other people were hurt and several houses collapsed, said Gao Shaotang, director of Yunnan Provincial Disaster Relief Center.

The official Xinhua News Agency said witnesses reported that part of a supermarket had collapsed in the magnitude 5.8 earthquake.

The website of the government earthquake monitoring station said the quake struck in Yunnan just before 1 p.m. (0500 GMT) at a depth of 6 miles (10 kilometers).

The United States Geological Survey put the quake's magnitude at 5.4. Quakes of magnitude 5 or more are capable of causing damage.

The epicenter is in a mountainous area 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) southwest of Beijing, close to the border with Myanmar.