Fifty-eight people were killed when a strong earthquake hit Kyrgyzstan close to the country's border with China, emergency officials in former Soviet republic said Monday.

The earthquake in the Alaisky district in southern Kyrgyzstan late Sunday evening killed 58, injured 50 and destroyed 120 buildings, Kylych Dosumbetov, a spokesman for Kyrgyzstan's emergency situations ministry, told AFP.

Seismologists in the United States reported that the strong 6.6 magnitude quake struck Kyrgyzstan at 9:52 pm (15:52 GMT).

Destruction was concentrated in Nura, a village of 950 residents close to Kyrgyzstan's mountainous border with China.

Officials said rescue efforts were being hampered by the remoteness of the village and a lack of communication ties with it.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the epicentre of the earthquake was 60 kilometres (35 miles) east-southeast of Sary-Tash at a depth of 27.6 kilometres (17.2 miles).

An aftershock of magnitude 5.1 hit the region just over two hours later at 12:27 am Monday (18:27 GMT Sunday).