Two people were confirmed dead and another one remained missing as of 8:14 a.m. Monday after a 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck Liuzhou City in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region early Monday, local earthquake relief headquarters said. 

The temblor struck at 0:21 am Monday at a depth of 8 kilometers, with its epicenter located in Taiyangcun town, 16 kilometers away from downtown Liuzhou, according to the Guangxi Earthquake Administration.

Tremors were clearly felt across Liuzhou, Guigang, Wuzhou, Hechi, Nanning and other nearby cities.

As of 4 am, 13 buildings had collapsed in the quake-hit zones. More than 7,000 local residents have been safely relocated. Basic public services, including communications, power, water, gas supply and road transportation, remain fully operational.

Local emergency authorities activated the disaster response right after the earthquake. Rescue teams, including emergency management staff, police, firefighters, and professional work groups, were dispatched to carry out missing person searches, resident evacuation and full-scale safety inspections on buildings, traffic lines, bridges, mines and potential geological hazard sites.

The Level IV national earthquake emergency response has been launched.

A special working group has been arranged to head to the affected area to guide on-site rescue and post-quake relief work.