6.4 magnitude earthquake killed 6 people in China
The US Geological Survey said the China quake struck at a depth of 20km (12 miles) northeast of the city of Hotan, followed by a series of aftershocks.
Accoeding the reports of state media, at least six people have been killed and more than 48 injured by a magnitude 6.4 earthquakes in China’s Xinjiang region. Officials said more than 3,000 houses and buildings in the mainly ethnic Uighur region were damaged.
Many traditional houses in the mainly ethnic Uighur region collapsed when the shallow magnitude-6.4 quake struck about 160 kilometres north-west of the southern city of Hotan, emergency officials said. The dead included a father and son, the government-run China National Emergency Broadcasting said on its website.
Earlier reports had the death toll at six, but it has since been revised down. The Ministry of Civil Affairs added that at least 3,000 homes either collapsed or were seriously damaged and 1,000 tents were being sent to the region. State news agency Xinhua put the number of injured at about 50.
"If many people are gathered in one place during an earthquake, it can lead to a serious disaster, but in this case there were relatively few people so it isn't so serious," China Earthquake Networks Centre researcher, Sun Shihong, told state broadcaster China Central Television.
Pictures on social media and state television showed cracks on the walls of buildings and other minor damage.
