7.0-magnitude earthquake hits China-Kyrgyzstan border
At least fifty people were injured after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck along the mountainous China-Kyrgyzstan border on Tuesday, authorities said. The major quake was registered just after 2am at a depth of 13 kilometres in Xinjiang region, about 140 kilometres west of the city of Aksu. A team was dispatched to the quake's epicentre, Xinhua news agency said, while around 800 people were on standby for any large disaster relief mission. The health ministry in Kazakhstan said that 44 people suffering "various" injuries had sought medical help in the city of Almaty, the country's largest city. Images posted on social media and by news outlets showed citizens streaming outside following the quake. In Akqi County, six people suffered injuries – two of which were "serious" – according to a Weibo post by a Xinjiang government media account. A total of 47 buildings in the county collapsed, while a further 78 were damaged, the post said. Two residential houses and livestock sheds collapsed in the area near the epicentre, in rural Wushi County, Xinhua reported, while electricity was temporarily knocked out. Video circulating on mainland social media showed household appliances crashing to the floor as wild shaking rocked homes. More footage shared by broadcaster CCTV showed firemen entering a damaged building with cracked walls and police helping an injured local. TV channels in the Indian capital New Delhi reported strong tremors in the city, about 1,400 kilometres away. People also fled their homes to seek refuge in the street in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek, after the quake caused walls to shake and furniture to shift. Bohobek Azhikeev, head of the Kyrgyz Ministry for Emergency Situations, said in a video message that "no casualties or damage have been registered" in the city. Five villages are located within 20 kilometres of the epicentre, according to Xinhua, and a slew of small aftershocks followed in the area, with magnitudes as high as 5.5. Tuesday's earthquake came the day after a landslide buried dozens of people and killed at least eight in the southwest of China. (AFP)_____________________________
Last updated: 2024-01-23 HKT 15:03 