Tajikistan’s eastern region has been hit by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake, according to US Geological Survey [USGS], adding the quake struck around 5:37 am local time (0037 GMT) at a depth of about 20.5 kilometres.
An earthquake of about 7.3-magnitude occurred near the border of China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region and Tajikistan at around 8:37 am (0037 GMT), Chinese state television CCTV reported on Thursday, citing the China Earthquake Networks Center.
The epicentre is about 82 km from the nearest border with China and was strongly felt in Kashgar and Artux in the western part of the Xinjiang region, CCTV reported.
The average elevation within 5 km of the epicentre is about 4,655 metres, according to CCTV.
European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre [EMSC] which reported 7.1-magnitude quake revised the size of the temblor to 6.3.
USGS estimated that “little or no population” will be exposed to landslides from the quake.
Its epicentre appeared to be in Gorno-Badakhshan, a semi-autonomous eastern region that borders Afghanistan and China.
A 5.0-magnitude aftershock hit the area about 20 minutes after the initial quake.
The sparsely populated territory is surrounded by the towering Pamir Mountains. (TRT World)
