AKSU, China, Jan 23, (AP): A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck a sparsely populated part of China’s western Xinjiang region early Tuesday, killing three people and causing extensive damage in freezing cold weather, officials said. It was the latest in a series of temblors and natural disasters to hit the country's west.
The quake rocked Uchturpan county in Aksu prefecture shortly after 2 a.m., the China Earthquake Networks Center said. Rescue crews were rushed to the area, with about 1,000 on hand by midday. By evening, authorities said three people have died and five were injured in the county, which is also called Wushi in the Mandarin language spoken by most Chinese.
Rescue crews combed through the rubble, overturning bricks and stone blocks in search of victims. Emergency survival gear - including coats, tents and folding beds to help the thousands of people who fled their homes - had arrived or were on their way, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Of the five hurt, two had serious injuries. Among the more than 120 buildings damaged, 47 houses collapsed, 78 houses were damaged and some greenhouses were reduced to plastic sheets and rubble, the government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region posted on its official Weibo social media account.
Liu Jinhua, who runs an advertising company in Aksu, rushed out of his apartment in the middle of the night with his wife and kids in their pajamas as the quake shook their building.
"I was ... awoken by my wife and didn’t know what was wrong. I just wanted my family to evacuate safely,” he said.
The quake downed power lines but electricity was quickly restored, Aksu authorities reported. The mountainous Uchturpan county had around 233,000 people in 2022, according to Xinjiang authorities.