Wang Jiao was reluctant to talk about the 6.5-magnitude earthquake that hit her hometown in Zhaotong city, Yunnan province, on Sunday afternoon.

"I was on a mountain with my husband when the quake happened, and the strong shake made it hard for us to stand," Yunnan Information Newspaper, a local media, quoted Wang as saying.

After about 30 seconds, Wang rushed to her home, to find other family members buried under the collapsed building, the paper said.

Wang dug her son, Tang Haoxuan, and his grandfather, out of the house, but the old man was dead, according to the paper.

To get treatment for her injured son, Wang carried him to the county hospital, walking without shoes although the road to Ludian county had been seriously damaged, the paper said.

She arrived at the hospital at 11 pm on Sunday, where her son received simple treatment, the report said, adding that the boy's legs and head were injured in the house collapse.