Six people have been killed after a magnitude-6.5 earthquake jolted Hotan, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region on Friday morning, according to a report by the China News Network citing local government officials. The report also said 3,000 houses were damaged.
Meanwhile, the People’s Liberation Army Daily said on social media that soldiers have been deployed to help with rescue efforts. As of 1pm, they have pulled over 20 injured out of the rubble, according to a message posted on the PLA Daily’s official account on Weibo, a Twitter-like service.
The quake hit at 9:07am at a depth of 10 kilometres. The epicentre was located in Pishan County in southern Xinjiang, about 1800 kilometres from capital Urumqi. The town has a population of 258,000 people, according to government data.
