Major earthquake hits China-Kyrgyzstan border

A major 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck along the mountainous China-Kyrgyzstan border on Tuesday, triggering warnings of potentially widespread damage though no casualties were immediately reported.

Local authorities dispatched a team to reach the quake’s epicentre, the Xinhua state news agency said, while some 800 people were on stand-by ready for any large disaster relief mission.

The quake was registered just after 2:00 am (1800 GMT Monday) at a depth of 13 kilometres in China’s Xinjiang region, some 140 kilometres (85 miles) west of the city of Aksu.

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.

One Aksu resident told Xinhua that people rushed outside for safety amid the shaking, despite the frigid early morning temperatures hovering around -10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit).

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 of Bishkek.”