Strong magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes remote western China, state media reports
- Tremors were felt across the Xinjiang region and as far away as the neighbouring countries Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan
- At least two homes collapsed, power lines were downed and authorities to suspended trains, state media reported
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck a remote part of China’s western Xinjiang region early on Tuesday, downing power lines, destroying at least two homes and prompting authorities to suspend trains, state media reported.
Two houses collapsed, Aksu authorities said, and around 200 emergency rescuers were dispatched to the quake’s epicentre, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The Xinjiang railway authority suspended dozens of trains in the region and sealed off the affected sections, CCTV reported. The earthquake downed power lines but electricity was quickly restored to the region, Aksu authorities reported.
There were no immediate reports of fatalities.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake occurred in the Tian Shan mountain range, “a seismically active region, though earthquakes of this size occur somewhat infrequently.” It said the largest earthquake in the area in the past century was a 7.1-magnitude one in 1978 about 200km to the north of one early on Tuesday.
State broadcaster CCTV said there were 14 aftershocks since the main earthquake, with two registering above 5-magnitude.
The earthquake struck in a rural area populated mostly by Uygurs.
