BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council has dispatched a working team to guide rescue and relief work following a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The team of the State Council's earthquake relief headquarters consists of members from the Ministry of Emergency Management, the Ministry of Public Security, the National Health Commission and other authorities.

In view of the severity of the disaster, the office of the State Council earthquake relief headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management raised the national earthquake emergency response to level II, the second highest in China's four-tier emergency response system.

The China National Commission for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry of Emergency Management also raised the national disaster response to level III.

As of 8:30 p.m. Monday, the quake, which jolted Luding County at 12:52 p.m. Monday, has killed 46 people, and left 16 missing.