REUTERS - An earthquake of
magnitude 6.2 hit China's far western region of Xinjiang on Thursday, the China
Earthquake Administration said, with tremors shaking
buildings near the
epicenter about 100 km (60 miles) west of the regional capital of Urumqi.
There were no
immediate reports of major damage or casualties from the quake, which struck at
a depth of 6 km (4 miles).
A police office in
Hutubi county where the quake struck declined to give details.
A receptionist at a
hotel about 2 km (a mile) from the epicenter, reached by Reuters, said the
tremors were intense though no buildings had collapsed.
Images posted on the
microblog of the state-run China Earthquake Networks Center showed goods had
fallen off shelves at a supermarket and students lined up in rows on a sports
field near their school.
The official Xinhua
news agency said Urumqi railway authorities suspended services on some lines
for safety checks.
Hutubi, a county of
about 200,000 people, according to census figures, has a largely ethnic Han
population with significant numbers of members of minorities, including from
the Hui and Uighur Muslim groups.
Xinjiang, China's
largest region, includes large stretches of desert and mountains, and is a
major oil, gas and cotton producer. It is also a hub for trade with neighboring
Central Asia.
The U.S. Geological
Survey initially reported the quake as magnitude 6.1 and at a depth of 55 km
REUTERS.
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