Buildings shake as minor quake hits Beijing

Beijing, Jul 4: A minor earthquake shook the Chinese capital today but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

China's seismological bureau said the epicentre of the quake, measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, was in Wenan county, Hebei province, 120 km (72 miles) south of Beijing.

Office workers and commuters on Beijing's elevated expressways felt shaking but traffic continued to flow smoothly.

''The air-conditioner outside my window shook rapidly, I didn't know what was happening,'' said Sun Wenhao from his 10th-floor office in downtown Tianjin, 90 km northeast of Wenan.

Government officials in Wenan said they had not received any reports of damage or casualties from the quake, which struck at 11.56 a.m. 0926 hrs IST.

A member of staff at the Wenan Renmin Hospital said it had not received any emergency calls connected to the tremor, the epicentre of which the U.S. Geological Survey said was 10 km below the Earth's surface.

China is hit by frequent earthquakes, with most hitting remote rural areas.

But this month marks the 30th anniversary of a quake that killed 270,000 people in Tangshan, east of Beijing.

REUTERS