Beijing, December 19 (EFE).- A 5.5 magnitude earthquake shook China’s Xinjiang region (northwest) this Tuesday, and no casualties have been reported so far, the China Seismological Network Center reported today.
The earthquake was recorded at 9.46am (01.46 GMT) on Tuesday and its epicenter was in the Artush district of Xinjiang province, bordering Kyrgyzstan, according to state agency Xinhua.
Provincial authorities confirmed that there were no reports of personal or material damage in the earthquake, whose epicenter was located 1,400 meters above sea level, far from settlements, and the nearest population was in a mountainous area 38 kilometers away.
Residents of Atux and neighboring Bachu district in Kashgar province confirmed to Xinhua that the tremors were felt, although only slightly.
The Governorate Fire Department sent nine teams and vehicles to the epicenter area to assess possible damage.
The earthquake followed another earthquake last night in Gansu and Qinghai provinces in the northwestern part of the country, killing at least 116 people and injuring nearly two hundred people.
Authorities have not reported any personal or material damage in this earthquake so far.
This second earthquake occurred more than 3,000 kilometers away from the first, in a region populated by Uyghur and Kyrgyz ethnic minorities.
Western China (autonomous regions of Tibet and