Ecuador said Thursday that three people -- not four -- were killed in an earthquake that shook the country this week, triggering deadly landslides.

Quito Mayor Mauricio Rodas corrected the toll, saying authorities had mistakenly reported that a man who was injured in the quake had died.

Two workers and a young boy were killed in the 5.1-magnitude quake that struck Tuesday near the Ecuadoran capital, he said.

Rodas said the city has received 584 reports of damage to buildings and houses that are being checked out.

Shallow 5.1 magnitude earthquake strikes SW China
Hong Kong (AFP) Aug 16, 2014 - A moderate 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck China's southwestern Sichuan province early Sunday, US geologists said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The quake struck at 6:07 am (2207 GMT Saturday) at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), the US Geological Survey said.

Shallow earthquakes can often cause greater damage than more powerful deep ones.

The USGS said the epicentre of the earthquake was two kilometres southwest of Xiluodu and 96 kilometres from Zhaotong in neighbouring Yunnan province, where a deadly quake two weeks ago killed 615 people and injured 3,143.

In May 2008, a giant quake that Chinese authorities said measured 8.0-magnitude rocked Sichuan, killing tens of thousands of people and flattening swathes of the province.