Quake hits China, at least seven dead

BEIJING (AFP) Dec 01, 2003
An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale rattled northwest China Monday leaving at least seven people dead, state press and local officials said.

The quake hit Zhaosu county in the Xinjiang region at 9.38 am (0138 GMT), the Xinhua news agency said.

"An earthquake hit this morning. The shock was pretty strong," Zhang Gangqiang from the Zhaosu county seismological bureau told AFP.

"We have no detailed information yet because the worst affected area is 60 or 70 kilometres (37-43 miles) away. We have sent officials to see what the damage is."

Xinhua, however, said at least seven people were reported dead and an unspecified number of houses had collapsed.

TERRA.WIRE