Beijing, Sep 3 (PTI) A 5.5-magnitude earthquake jolted China's Jiashi County in the quake-prone Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Tuesday, causing panic among the residents, local media reported.

The quake hit Kashgar Prefecture in the Xinjiang at 5:52 a.m. Tuesday (local time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

There was no immediate report of any casualty or damage. The epicentre of the quake was located at a depth of 8 km, the centre said in a statement.

However, residents in the city said they felt strong tremors and many people rushed out to the streets after the earthquake happened.

The epicentre, 22 km from the county seat of Jiashi, is sparsely populated. The local government has sent personnel to the affected areas to check the situation, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)