An earthquake that struck China 's remote and mountainous northwest today killed at least 10 people, and destroyed 700 mud and brick houses near the border with Kazakhstan, officials reported.
The tremor measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale struck Zhaosu county, in the Xinjiang region, as people were finishing breakfast or heading to work shortly after sunrise.
It was felt as far away as the Kazakh commercial capital, Almaty, and parts of Kyrgyztan, officials said. Doctors treating the injured said most of the casualties were caught in homes that collapsed during the tremor. The victims were mainly herdsmen.
A local official said there were also four children among the dead.