Three people were killed and 1,006 injured in a 6-magnitude aftershock in a city of quake-devastated Sichuan Province, rescue authorities said late Sunday.

The epicenter of the aftershock was in Liuhe and Fengshun towns with many neighboring towns affected, the disaster relief headquarters of Jiangyou City said.

The shock brought down a big number of houses, damaged 377 km of roads and six bridges, the headquarters said.

Jiangyou is situated near Beichuan County and Mianyang City, which are among the places hardest hit by the 8.0 magnitude quake on May 12.

The quake death toll in Sichuan alone had exceeded 31,900 as of 4 p.m. on Sunday.

(Xinhua News Agency May 18, 2008)