Beijing, Jan 23 (AP) A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck a remote part of China's western Xinjiang region early Tuesday, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

Xinhua cited the China Earthquake Networks Centre as saying the quake rocked Wushu county in Aksu prefecture shortly after 2 am local time.

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The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred in the Tian Shan mountain range, “a seismically active region, though earthquakes of this size occur somewhat infrequently.” It said the largest quake in the area in the past century was a 7.1-magnitude one in 1978 about 200 kilometres to the north of one early Tuesday.

State broadcaster CCTV said there were several aftershocks since the main quake, registering up to 4.5 magnitude.

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Tremors were felt as far away as the neighboring countries Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. In the Kazakh capital of Almaty, people left their homes, the Russian news agency Tass reported. (AP)

(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)