Chinese rescue teams carrying tents, quilts and sacks of rice have rushed to reach survivors of an earthquake that killed at least 27 people and has turned tens of thousands of homes into rubble and cracked reservoirs.

The 6.1-magnitude quake struck Sichuan province on Saturday along the same fault line as the May 12 earthquake that killed nearly 70,000.

State broadcaster China Central Television showed dozens of evacuees assembled on a primary school field in Panzhihua on Sunday, wrapped in quilts on plastic sheets and mats on the ground.

The official Xinhua News Agency says the quake killed 22 people in Sichuan and five in the neighboring province of Yunnan, citing the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The agency says the quake destroyed 180,000 homes, damaged major bridges and cracked three reservoirs.