A major, 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck in western China near the border with Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Epicentre of the earthquake at Kyrgyzstan border. Image: United States Geological Survey
The temblor happened at 2:09 a.m. China time, data from the agency shows at a depth of 13 kilometres in the Xinjiang region, some 140 kilometres west of the city of Aksu.
Authorities dispatched a team to the quake's epicentre, Xinhua news agency said, while some 800 people were on standby for any large disaster relief mission.
Two residential houses and livestock sheds collapsed in the area near the epicentre, in rural Wushi County, Xinhua reported, while electricity was temporarily knocked out.
According to the report from state media, three people in a nearby county were injured and have been hospitalised.
The video emerged on social media showed household appliances crashing to the floor as wild shaking rocked homes.
Other footage televised by CCTV showed firemen going inside the building with cracked walls as the result of the quake while police helping an injured local.
One Aksu resident told Xinhua that people rushed outside for safety amid the shaking despite the frigid early morning temperatures hovering around -10 degrees Celsius.
People also fled their homes to seek refuge in the street in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek after the quake caused walls to shake and furniture to shift.
Bohobek Azhikeev, head of the Kyrgyz Ministry for Emergency Situations, said in a video message that "no casualties or damage have been registered in the city of Bishkek".
中國西部吉爾吉斯斯坦邊境7.0級地震
據美國地質調查局稱，週二，中國西部與吉爾吉斯斯坦邊境附近發生了 7.0 級大地震。
該機構的數據顯示，地震發生在中國時間凌晨2點09分，震源深度為13公里，位於新疆地區，距離阿克蘇市以西約140公里。
新華社稱，當局已向震央派遣了一個工作小組，另有約 800 人待命，以應對任何大型救災任務。
據新華社報道，震央附近的烏什縣農村地區有兩棟民營和牲畜棚倒塌，電力暫時中斷。
根據官方媒體報道，附近一個縣的三人受傷並已被送往醫院。
社群媒體上發布的影片顯示，房子劇烈搖晃，家用電器墜落到地板上。
中央電視台播放的其他畫面顯示，消防員進入因地震導致牆壁破裂的建築物內，而警察正在幫助一名受傷的當地人。
一位阿克蘇居民告訴新華社，儘管清晨氣溫徘徊在攝氏-10度左右，但由於地震，人們仍紛紛逃出避難所。
地震導致牆壁搖晃、家具移位，人們也逃離家園，到吉爾吉斯首都比什凱克街頭避難。
吉爾吉斯緊急情況部部長博霍別克·阿吉克耶夫在視訊消息中表示，「比什凱克市沒有人員傷亡或財產損失」。
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