Staff members of local power supply company set up lighting equipment at a temporary shelter in Akqi County, Kizilsu Kirgiz autonomous prefecture in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Jan 23, 2024. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

URUMQI - Three people were killed and five others injured when a 7.1-magnitude earthquake jolted Wushi county and its surrounding areas in Aksu prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, at 2:09 am Tuesday, local authorities said.

All three deaths and four of the five injuries occurred in Akqi county, which is adjacent to Wushi county, and one person was injured in Wushi county itself.

Organized rescue efforts are carried out in an orderly manner, with 12,426 people having been relocated to safe places.

The central authorities have allocated 22,000 disaster relief materials, including cotton tents and coats, to aid Xinjiang in relief efforts and relocation and resettlement of affected residents. By noon on Tuesday, the first batch of about 10,000 relief supplies had reached the disaster zone.

As of 4 pm Tuesday, the China Earthquake Networks Center had reported 70 aftershocks at magnitudes of 3.0 or higher in the region. A 5.3-magnitude aftershock was the most powerful that has been reported so far.

Rescuers search for survivors in Aksu prefecture in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Jan 23, 2024. (PROVIDED BY AKSU FIRE BRIGADE TO CHINA DAILY)

Several residential houses and livestock sheds collapsed in the epicenter, with some herdsmen suffering minor injuries, according to local sources.

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The railway authorities promptly initiated an emergency response following the earthquake, halting passenger trains and checking railway tracks, bridges, signal equipment and other facilities in the affected areas. Services for 27 trains had been affected.

Parts of the area had experienced temporary disruption of electricity supply shortly after the quake. But the supply had been gradually restored.

A staff member of local power supply company sets up lighting equipment at a temporary shelter in Akqi county, Kizilsu Kirgiz autonomous prefecture in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Jan 23, 2024. (PHOTO / XINHUA）

In the Aksu area,a local resident surnamed Liu told Xinhua that many people rushed to open space for safety, in spite of around 10 degrees below zero in wee hours.

The earthquake was also felt in various cities and prefectures across Xinjiang, including Urumqi, Hotan, and Kashgar. Residents in the regional capital Urumqi reported feeling the shaking even on the 17th floor.

Cao Yanglong, on a business trip in Aksu, said that during the earthquake, he was staying on the 21st floor of a hotel. The intensity was so strong that he described feeling like he was "going to be shaken out of bed."

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Rescuers search for survivors in Aksu prefecture in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Jan 23, 2024. (PROVIDED BY AKSU FIRE BRIGADE TO CHINA DAILY)

Following the earthquake, the Wushi county fire and rescue brigade promptly dispatched an advance team of 10 people to the epicenter area. Also, the Aksu prefecture fire and rescue detachment mobilized 60 people to reach the epicenter.

A total of 182 vehicles, 800 people, and 32 dogs have been put on stand-by, ready for the disaster relief mission, according to the Xinjiang regional fire and rescue department.