Eight people have been confirmed dead and 23 others were injured after a 5.5-magnitude earthquake jolted¹ Taxkorgan County in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous² Region at 5:58 a.m. Thursday.

 

周四早晨5点58分，新疆塔什库尔干县发生一场5.5级地震，已确认有8人死亡、23人受伤。

 

So far, the quake has left lives of more than 12,000 people affected³. A total of 9,200 people have been relocated to safe places.

 

The injured people have been sent to hospital for treatment. More than1,000 soldiers and police officers, and 1,500 civilians⁴ have rushed to the quake-stricken areas for rescue. Relief goods are already on th way, according to the quake emergency response headquarters.

 

Wang Fuyou, Communist Party chief of the county, said the quake followed by frequent aftershocks was felt strongly. 

 

Cracks appeared on walls of houses in the county seat. Some people were buried after adobe⁵ houses near the epicenter collapsed⁶, according to Wang.

 

The county government has sent personnel to search for the buried people in Quzgun Village, the worst-hit village in the quake with a population of 449, Wang said.

 

In Quzgun Village, 820 heads of livestock⁷ were injured or killed and 1,520 homes collapsed.

 

The power supply company of the county said the power supply network across the county including the quake-hit areas operates normally. The water supply and communication in the county seat also operates normally.

 

As of 10 a.m., the Xinjiang seismological bureau recorded 82 aftershocks following the quake.

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