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01/21/1997 Twin quakes kill 12 in western China

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Twin quakes kill 12 in western China

January 21, 1997 Web posted at: 1:50 p.m. EST (1850 GMT)

XINJIANG PROVINCE, China (CNN) -- Two strong earthquakes rocked China's westernmost region in rapid succession Tuesday, killing at least 12 people, injuring 27 and forcing more than 2,500 families to flee damaged homes in the bitter cold, officials said.

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit at 9:47 a.m. (0147 GMT). It was followed by a 6.3 quake a minute later. The epicenter was 12 miles (20 kilometers) north of the city of Jiashi.

An official of the State Seismological Bureau said the number of casualties could rise as rescue teams and officials searched through rubble of collapsed houses. An eight-year- old child, crushed to death, was among the casualties.

Dozens of aftershocks made people afraid to return to their homes, despite freezing temperatures, officials said.

The remote desert area, 2,000 miles west of Beijing, is populated mainly by sheep herders and cotton farmers.

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit the same area last March, killing 24 people and injuring 80. In the past decade, Xinjiang province has been rocked by 10 earthquakes registering over 6.0.

The region is still reeling from the heaviest blizzards in three decades, which have killed at least 36 people, and left as many as 320,000 cut off or trapped by snowdrifts.

Tuesday's twin jolts followed a magnitude 5.0 earthquake that struck an isolated area of neighboring central Tibet on Monday morning, causing no reported casualties.

Reuters contributed to this report.

From CNN

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Copyright DateRichard R. Wertz