Singapore Airlines unit SilkAir said it diverted a flight headed for Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, after its pilots were told that the Chengdu airport was shut following an earthquake.

The plane, which was to have reached Chengdu at 3:30 pm Singapore time (07:30GMT), has landed at Kunming in the neighboring Yunnan province, a spokesman from SilkAir said.