There have been no reports of students killed in the 7.0-magnitude earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province, the Ministry of Education said Saturday afternoon.

The latest information was obtained from the provincial education department, the ministry said on its official microblogging account.

The earthquake occurred at 8:02 a.m. in Lushan county of Ya'an City. The epicenter had a depth of 13 km. Seventy-eight people have been confirmed dead, according to the provincial seismological bureau.

(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2013)