According to the China Earthquake Administration, the epicentre was in the mountainous border area of Wushi County in northwest China’s Xinjiang region

The earthquake struck in a rural area populated mostly by Uyghurs, who have been the target of a state campaign of forced assimilation and mass detention in recent years.State broadcaster CCTV said there were several aftershocks since the main quake, registering up to 4.5 magnitude.

Rescue missions are taking place in cold weather with temperatures expected to reach minus 23 degrees Celsius (minus 9.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in Wushi county in the next three days, China’s Meteorological Agency said Tuesday.

The Xinjiang railway authority immediately sealed off routes in areas affected by the quake and suspended 27 trains, Xinhua reported.