Chinese province hit by 5.1 quake

An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale hit a remote mountainous region in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale hit a remote mountainous region in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region today,but there were no immediate reports of casualties,officials said.

While there are no reports yet of casualties,local officials at Wuqia County of Kizilsu Prefecture,about 60-km from the quake epicentre,said they are still assessing damage from it.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Centre,the 5.1 earthquake struck at 2:38 PM. The epicentre was 39.9 degrees north latitude and 74.7 degrees east longitude,officials said.

Residents in Wuqia and at least three neighbouring villages and townships felt the quake,state-run Xinhua news agency said.

Also,communications were temporarily shut down after the tremor.

Reached by phone,an official in Wuheshalu town told Xinhua that many houses in the township suffered cracks during the quake,but there are no immediate reports of casualties.

“What I worry about most is what happened to about 60 people at a herdsman settlement some 80-km from the epicentre,” Li Rongjun,the official,said. “They cannot be reached by phone. We have sent people there to check.”

There were also a number of mines near the epicentre,but these mines were not being operated at the time of the quake,Li said.