Three people have died after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake rocked a mountainous and remote part of China’s far western Xinjiang region early Tuesday.
State broadcaster CCTV reported that a further five people were injured and 12,426 evacuated from affected areas.
The quake struck Wushi county, also known as Uqturpan county, in Aksu prefecture near the Kyrgyzstan border shortly after 2 a.m. local time, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
Strong tremors caused two houses to collapse and downed two major power lines near the epicenter, though electricity was quickly restored, according to Xinhua, and tremors were felt in Central Asian countries hundreds of miles away.
Rescue missions are taking place in cold weather with temperatures expected to reach minus 23 degrees Celsius (minus 9.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in Wushi county in the next three days, China’s Meteorological Agency said Tuesday.
The Xinjiang railway authority immediately sealed off routes in areas affected by the quake and suspended 27 trains, Xinhua reported.
Credit: cnn.com
