Magnitude-5.0 quake hits Qinghai

XINING - A 5.0-magnitude earthquake jolted China's Northwest Qinghai province at 8:43 am Wednesday (Beijing Time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center, but no casualties have been reported.

The epicenter, with a depth of 4 km, was monitored at about 37.6 degrees north latitude and 95.9 degrees east longitude, the center said in a statement.

As of 12 am on Wednesday, no casualties have been reported, according to the Qinghai Provincial Seismological Bureau.

Located in the Da Qaidam (also known as Dachaidan) district in the Mongolian-Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi, the epicenter is scarcely populated.

Zhang Jianchang, the bureau's office director, said some residents in Da Qaidam and Golmud felt the quake.

Workers at a coal mine near the epicenter were lifted out of the shaft and transported to safety, said local work safety supervision and civil affairs authorities.

On August 28, 2009, a 6.4-magnitude quake hit Da Qaidam but did not cause casualties either.

On November 10, 2008, a 6.3-magnitude quake struck the region, injuring three people, forcing the evacuation of more than 11,000 people and collapsing or seriously damaging more than 10,000 houses.