By 3 pm Monday, 11 people were killed in the earthquake in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

All the dead were workers and their families in Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. Eight of them were of Mongolian ethic minority, and three were children with the eldest aged four. Two people were badly injured, said Qian Cunbin, colonel of the 76th regiment.

Rescue and medical teams have been dispatched by the corps to the area.

The quake, measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale, occurred at 9:38 am Monday, with the epicenter located at 43.1 degrees north latitude, 80.1 degrees east longitude, about 80 kilometers away from the county proper of Zhaosu.

The quake was strongly felt in Zhaosu County and surrounding areas, and a provisional investigation showed that more than 700 houses collapsed and nearly 140 houses were in critical condition.

Zhaosu County is located in the bordering area between China and the Republic of Kazakstan. The quake Monday is the strongest over recent years, according to the local seismological bureau.

(Xinhua News Agency December 1, 2003)