Beijing: 

Together forever: Rescuers found the bodies of a woman covering her child in a collapsed house, following an earthquake in Lixi town, in China's Sichuan province on Sunday. pic/ap

The death toll from a 5.7-magnitude earthquake in China's Sichuan province during the weekend rose to 38, as authorities sent emergency relief to the southwestern region for tens of thousands of people whose homes were destroyed.

The quake hit near the city of Panzhihua on Saturday, killing 32 people in the province, six in neighboring Yunnan province and injuring more than 500.

Sichuan is still rebuilding cities devastated by a 7.9- magnitude earthquake in May that killed 69,226 people and left 15 million homeless. It was the nation's deadliest trembler in 32 years.

Authorities are sending 6,500 tents and 20,000 quilts to areas of Sichuan affected by the latest earthquake, and 3,200 tents and 3,000 quilts to Yunnan. But rainstorms forecast in the coming week may make relief work more difficult.

More than 2.5 lakh houses were damaged and 1.5 lakh people displaced. Seven reservoirs, 22 highways and three bridges were also damaged. In Yunnan, more than 1.3 lakh homes were destroyed, affecting 6 lakh people.