A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the Kyrgyzstan-Xinjiang border region on Tuesday with reports of several injuries and collapsed houses.
The epicentre of the quake struck at 2:09 am (1809 GMT) and at a depth of 22 km (13 miles) in the mountainous border area of Wushi County in northwest China’s Xinjiang region, according to the China Earthquake Administration.
According to the Xinjiang Earthquake Agency, the epicentre is about 50 km (31 miles) from Wushi, with five villages located within a 20-km (12 miles) radius around the epicentre, Xinhua News reported.
As of 8 am (0000 GMT), 40 aftershocks have been recorded, according to China Earthquake Networks Center.
Earthquake of magnitude 7.01 strikes Kyrgyzstan-China border region; tremors felt in Delhi-NCR#earthquakes pic.twitter.com/ztRcyBQ7ha
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The Xinjiang railway department immediately stopped operations and 27 trains were reportedly affected by the earthquake, Xinhua said.
Over the past 24 hours, Xinjiang has been struck by a few sizeable earthquakes.
In nearby Kazakhstan, the emergency ministry reported the latest earthquake at a magnitude of 6.7.
In Kazakhstan’s biggest city, Almaty, residents fled their houses and gathered outside despite cold weather, some dressed in pajamas and slippers. No damage has been reported.
The tremors, followed by aftershocks about 30 minutes later, were also felt in Uzbekistan.
