A woman carrying blankets to use in a temporary shelter walks next to a home that collapsed after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake shook Ning'er county in China's Yunnan province early Sunday morning. Tens of thousands of earthquake victims in southwest China were fearful of returning to their damaged homes after the quake killed three and injured hundreds.

BEIJING — A strong earthquake shook a hilly southwestern Chinese region near the border with Laos early Sunday, killing at least three people — including a child who was crushed by debris — injuring hundreds and forcing 120,000 people from their homes, state media reported.

The 6.4-magnitude quake struck the county seat of Ning'er shortly after 5:30 a.m., said China's official Xinhua News Agency, citing the government's seismological bureau. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake's magnitude at 6.2.

At least three people died and more than 290 were injured, 15 seriously, Xinhua reported. One of the dead was a 5-year-old boy who was crushed by debris, state television reported. The boy's parents were also trapped but were rescued by local residents, China Central Television said.

"I didn't notice the initial quake and was woken up by my parents, and we ran out of our home," said a woman in her 20s who lives in Ning'er County and refused to give her name when reached by phone.

She said the initial quake lasted about a minute and that many residents fled their homes to find safety in open areas. Others moved into tents after their homes were damaged, said a retired schoolteacher who only gave her surname, Dong.

"Many old buildings, especially those built in the 1970s, either have cracks in the walls or have collapsed," Dong told The Associated Press by phone.

News footage aired on China Central Television showed partly collapsed brick homes and soldiers knocking down unstable structures. Doctors and nurses treated the injured in a large tent. Rescue teams with thousands of tents, quilts and other relief supplies were rushing to the area.

Ning'er lies in a quake-prone mountainous region in Yunnan province about 90 miles north of Laos and is famous for its strong tea, known as Pu'er. For centuries, the area sat astride an important trade route for tea and horses that ran along western China between Central Asia and southea stern Asia.

Many of the area's residents belong to the Hani and Yi minority groups that once thrived in small hillside villages but have in recent decades moved into the county seat.

The quake damaged pipes, cutting off water supplies, and though electricity was still on in some areas, shops and schools were closed, Dong said.

Xinhua said communications lines were also downed, making it difficult for residents to make phone calls.

By 2 p.m., the local seismological bureau recorded 233 aftershocks, the strongest with a magnitude of 5.1.