Magnitude 5 quake hits northwest China's Qinghai province

A 5.0-magnitude earthquake jolted China's northwest Qinghai Province at 8:43 a.m. 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 a.m. 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 Nov. 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.