Moderate earthquake jolts city in China's Xinjiang

BEIJING: A 5.0-magnitude earthquake today jolted the Chinese city of Atux in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The epicenter of the quake was detected at a depth of 10 km, the China Earthquake Networks Centre said. So far no casualties have been reported from the Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture of Kizilsu.

Atux is the seat of the prefecture, state-run news agency reported. The prefecture is located on the west end of Xinjiang. There are about 20 villages less than 30 km away from the epicenter.

Some old houses were "moderately damaged" in the tremor, according to the regional seismological bureau.

A work team has been sent to the affected area by the regional government.