Xinjiang earthquake leaves three injured

Three people were injured as of 6 am on Tuesday after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region at about 2 am on Tuesday, local authorities said.

The injuries happened at Culansazyk township of Ahetch county of Kezilesu Kirgiz autonomous prefecture, 26 kilometers from the epicenter in Yamansu Kirgiz township of Wushi county, Aksu prefecture.

The epicenter, with a depth of 22 km, was monitored at 41.26 degrees north latitude and 78.63 degrees east longitude, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

It is located in a high mountainous area, with an average altitude of about 3,048 meters within 5 kilometers of the epicenter, and a sparse population. There was no report of death or injuries there as of now, according to the publicity department of Aksu.

Aksu prefecture, Kezilesu Kirgiz autonomous prefecture and Kashgar prefecture all experienced strong tremors.

Xinjiang has initiated a second-level emergency response to the earthquake. Workers from the emergency management, transportation, water conservancy, health, communications, power and other departments have rushed to the earthquake-stricken area in earthquake relief efforts.

The injured were sent to hospital.