Photo: Reuters
A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the border region between Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang in China on Tuesday (local time), with reports of several casualties and houses collapsing, according to Chinese state media.
The earthquake occurred at 2:09 am (local time), according to the Chinese Earthquake Administration, and struck Wuxi County in the Xinjiang region in northwest China, a mountainous region on the border.
As of 4 a.m., 14 aftershocks with a magnitude of 3.0 or more had been recorded near the epicenter, the largest of which was a magnitude of 5.3, about 17 kilometers from the epicenter, according to China's Xinhua News Agency.
Xinhua reported that the Railway Administration in Xinjiang immediately suspended operations and 27 trains were affected by the earthquake.
The China Earthquake Administration said it immediately activated emergency response services and sent a team to direct rescue efforts at the site.
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In the past 24 hours, the Xinjiang region has been hit by some earthquakes.
In neighboring Kazakhstan, the Emergencies Ministry reported the recent earthquake measuring 6.7 magnitude.
In Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, residents left their homes and took to the streets despite the cold weather, and some of them wore pajamas and slippers. No damages were recorded.
Residents of Uzbekistan also felt the earthquake, which was followed by aftershocks about 30 minutes later.
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