Earthquake hits Xinjiang in northwest China

By Mahmut Atanur

BEIJING

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit northwest Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China on Thursday.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the temblor struck 104 kilometers (65 miles) west of Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi at a shallow depth of 13.7 km.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

Late last month, at least one person was found dead in a house that collapsed in the region’s Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture after a magnitude 6.7 quake.

In August 2014, at least 617 people died when a magnitude-6.5 quake struck southwest Yunnan province.

Another southwestern province, Sichuan, suffered a massive magnitude 8.0 temblor in May 2008 that left more than 80,000 dead or missing.