The 6.1-magnitude quake that jolted southwest China’s Sichuan and Yunnan provinces on Saturday has killed 32 people, destroyed at least 258,000 houses and affected over eight lakh people as authorities on Monday launched a massive rescue and relief effort in the affected areas.

In total 27 deaths occurred in Sichuan and the other five with the Yunnan Province. More than 400 were injured in the quake which hit the region yesterday evening, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said, citing figures from the local governments.

More than 800,000 people were affected by the disaster. About 40,000 were evacuated to safe places.

In addition, around 180,000 houses were destroyed. Three large bridges in Sichuan’s Panzhihua city, the epicentre of the quake, were damaged. Cracks were found in three reservoirs, Xinhua news agency reported.