Authorities in eastern China have demanded that construction on a nuclear power station be stopped immediately, saying residents in the quake-prone area are in danger, state media reported Thursday.

Energy-hungry China -- eager to increase the amount of nuclear power it uses to drive its economy -- is building 25 atomic reactors and the demand is considered highly unusual.

According to the state-run Beijing News, the Wangjiang district government in Anhui province says data from an environmental impact assessment on construction of the power plant in a neighbouring district was wrong.

Quoting an official document published online earlier this week, the report said the number of people living less than 10 kilometres (six miles) from the plant in Jiangxi province, which borders Anhui, had been underestimated.

The document also pointed out that a 5.7-magnitude earthquake hit the region in 2006 and a 4.6-magnitude tremor rattled the same area in September.

Wangjiang officials say they are worried that "gas and toxic liquids emitted by the plant will severely affect residents downstream" from the site in Pengze, the report said.

The Pengze government has said that the claims are "baseless", according to the report.

In a comment piece, the newspaper urged evaluation reports on the project -- approved in 2010 and where preliminary construction work has already started -- be made "public and transparent".

"The Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in Japan last year represents a big warning," it said.

China has 14 active nuclear reactors. It aims to multiply by five or six times the electricity it produces from nuclear energy by 2020, according to the World Nuclear Association.

The Fukushima accident, triggered by a devastating earthquake and tsunami, prompted a nationwide check of nuclear facilities in China last April.