Rescuers work near rubble after an earthquake in China’s Xinjiang region on Tuesday. AP
The quake shook Uchturpan district in Aksu province shortly after 2 a.m., the China Earthquake Network Center said. About 200 rescue workers were dispatched to the epicenter. Uchturpan district is called Wushi in Mandarin spoken by most Chinese.
The quake is the latest in a series of seismic events and natural disasters to hit the western regions of the vast country.
Of the six people injured by the earthquake, two were seriously injured and four were slightly injured. In addition, 47 houses collapsed, 78 houses were damaged and several agricultural structures collapsed, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region government said in a post on its official social media account.
Aksu authorities said the earthquake knocked out power lines but power was quickly restored. According to the Xinjiang government, the mountainous district of Uchturpan has about 233,000 people, according to 2022 figures. Urumqi Municipal Railway Authority delayed 23 trains after the earthquake, but has now restored train service After checking that the tracks are safe. Chinese paramilitary forces were dispatched to the area to clear the rubble and set up tents for the displaced.
Previously, the US Geological Survey said the 7.0 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Tianshan mountain range, which is seismically active. The agency said the region’s largest quake in the past century had a magnitude of 7.1 and occurred in 1978. Many aftershocks were recorded, with the strongest measuring 5.3 Richter scale.