An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale hit a remote mountainous region in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region Thursday afternoon.

While there are not yet reports of casualties, local officials at Wuqia County of Kizilsu Prefecture, about 60 km from the epicenter, said they are still assessing damages.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the earthquake struck at 2:38 p.m. about 8 kilometers below the earth surface. The epicenter was 39.9 degrees north latitude and 74.7 degrees east longitude, officials said.

Residents in Wuqia and at least three neighboring villages and townships felt the quake.

Also, communications were temporarily shut down after the tremor.

Reached by phone, an official in Wuheshalu Town told Xinhua that many houses in the township suffered cracks during the quake but there are no immediate reports of casualties.

"What I worry about most is what happened to about 60 people at a herdsman settlement some 80 km from the epicenter," Li Rongjun, the official, said. "They can not be reached by phone. We have sent people there to check."

There were also a number of mines near the epicenter, but these mines were not being operated at the time of the quake, Li said.

Officials, police, medical workers and trained rescuers were mobilized and dispatched to areas near the epicenter.

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake rocked northwest China's Qinghai province on April 14, leaving 2,698 dead and 270 others missing. The entire town of Gyegu was flattened and homes of more than 100,000 local residents were destroyed.

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