8 killed after 5.5 magnitude quake jolts China

11 people said to be severely injured after the frequent quakes in China.

Beijing, May 11: A 5.5-magnitude earthquake jolted northwest China on Thursday killing eight persons, the US Geological Survey said.

Frequent aftershocks were felt, locals said. At least 11 others were injured after the quake hit Xinjiang 5.58 am, Xinhua new agency reported.

Search and rescue operations are underway.

The epicentre was in the southeast part of the Pamir Plateau at a depth of about 8.0 km.

The remote and sparsely populated area where the quake occurred is close to the borders of Tajikistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

It is believed that it is the third earthquake in 2017 after February 8 and March 27.

On March 27, An earthquake of 5.1 magnitude had jolted Yangbi County in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The quake struck at 7:55 am, China Earthquake Networks Centre had said. The epicentre of the quake was at a depth of about 12 kilometres, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

On February 8, Five people were injured and some old houses were damaged after an earthquake measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale hit Ludian county in China's southwestern Yunnan province, China Earthquake Networks Centre had said. The quake hit Ludian at 7:11 pm at a depth of 10 km, according to CENC.

On July 9, 2015, Four people were confirmed dead and 48 others injured in the 6.5-magnitude earthquake that struck northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Following this, the local administration has issued a level-II emergency response to the quake. The quake rocked Pishan County at 9:07 am with its epicentre monitored at a depth of 10 kms, the CENC said.

Li Hua, a worker at a state-owned farm in Pishan, told Xinhua that he felt the strong quake at his home on the fourth floor and it lasted about a minute. "I'm feeling dizzy," he said.

Shortly after the quake, several minor quakes measuring between 3.0 and 4.6 magnitude rocked the area, according to the CENC. Located in the southernmost part of Xinjiang, Pishan is about 1,800 kilometres away from the regional capital of Urumqi and covers 39,700 square kilometres. With a population of 258,000, the county is mainly inhabited by Uygur Muslims and other ethnic minorities.

On April 3, 2014, China rushed thousands of soldiers, police and firefighters as well as eight planes to its southwestern Yunnan province, which was devastated by a strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake that killed nearly 400 people.

The death toll from earthquake said to be the most powerful to hit the quake-vulnerable province in the past 14 years stood at 398 with some people still missing. The strong shallow quake has affected about 1.08 million others in Zhaotong City and Qujing City with about 1,801 injured. The quake prompted an emergency evacuation of about 230,000 people, said the Yunnan Civil Affairs Department.

IANS