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Quake of Magnitude 6.2 Strikes China's Xinjiang

by Reuters

   BEIJING --

   An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 hit China's far western region of
   Xinjiang on Thursday, the China Earthquake Administration said, with
   tremors shaking buildings near the epicenter about 100 km (60 miles)
   west of the regional capital of Urumqi.

   There were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties from the
   quake, which struck at a depth of 6 km (4 miles).

   A police office in Hutubi county where the quake struck declined to
   give details.

   A receptionist at a hotel about 2 km (a mile) from the epicenter,
   reached by Reuters, said the tremors were intense though no buildings
   had collapsed.

   Images posted on the microblog of the state-run China Earthquake
   Networks Center showed goods had fallen off shelves at a supermarket
   and students lined up in rows on a sports field near their school.

   The official Xinhua news agency said Urumqi railway authorities
   suspended services on some lines for safety checks. Hutubi, a county of
   about 200,000 people, according to census figures, has a largely ethnic
   Han population with significant numbers of members of minorities,
   including from the Hui and Uighur Muslim groups.

   Xinjiang, China's largest region, includes large stretches of desert
   and mountains, and is a major oil, gas and cotton producer. It is also
   a hub for trade with neighboring Central Asia.

   The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported the quake as magnitude
   6.1 and at a depth of 55 km.