Major 7.1-magnitude earthquake hits northwest China's Xinjiang

URUMQI (WAM)


A 7.1-magnitude earthquake jolted Wushi County in Aksu Prefecture in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region at 2:09 am Tuesday (Beijing Time), Xinhua News Agency reported.

The epicentre, with a depth of 22 km, was monitored at 41.26 degrees north latitude and 78.63 degrees east longitude, said the China Earthquake Networks Centre (CENC). Preliminary reports indicated that the epicentre was situated in a township in Wushi County within the mountainous border between China and Kyrgyzstan.

Several residential houses and livestock sheds collapsed in the epicentre, with some herdsmen suffering minor injuries, according to local sources.

As of 4am on Tuesday, the region had recorded 14 aftershocks with a magnitude of three or higher, with the strongest registering at 5.3 magnitude.

The railway authorities promptly initiated an emergency response following the earthquake, halting passenger trains and checking railway tracks, bridges, signal equipment and other facilities in the affected areas. Services for 27 trains had been affected.