At least 32 injured in M6.6 earthquake in NW China's Xinjiang

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Updated at 1:00 p.m. BJT

At least 32 people were injured, two critically after the 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocked Jinghe County in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Wednesday, local authorities said.

The quake has left 142 homes collapsed and 1,060 other buildings damaged.

Two helicopters have been dispatched from the nearby city Yining as rescue and relief work is underway.

Bottles fall off the shelves in a local supermarket after the earthquake./ Xinjiang Seismological Bureau Photo

Updated at 10:30 a.m. BJT

Three villagers were hospitalized after their homes collapsed in the 6.6-magnitude earthquake, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Residents in the regional capital of Urumqi, cities of Karamay and Yining, some 400 to 200 kilometers away from Jinghe County, felt strong tremors.

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Jiuzhaigou County in southwestern China's Sichuan Province on Tuesday night. As of 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, a total of 13 people were killed and 175 were injured in the earthquake.

Jiang Haikun, expert from China Earthquake Networks Center, said Jinghe and Jiuzhaigou are located on different seismic belts, which shows no sign the two earthquakes were inter-related.

House collapses in the earthquake./ Weibo Photo

Updated at 8:12 a.m. BJT

A level-II emergency response mechanism and emergency operation has been activated, Xinjiang's seismological bureau said in a statement on Wednesday.

The epicenter is 37 kilometers south of Jinghe and there are no villages within five kilometers to the epicenter, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

So far there have been no reports of casualties or damage.

Updated at 7:50 a.m. BJT

A 6.6-magnitude earthquake jolted northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Wednesday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

The earthquake struck at 7:27 a.m. with a depth of 11 kilometers. The epicenter was monitored at 44.27 degrees north latitude, 82.89 degrees east longitude near the Jinghe River of Xinjiang's Bortala Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture.

2791km