URUMQI, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- 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 a.m. 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 p.m. 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. Enditem

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