Eleven people were killed and 40 others injured early Monday when an earthquake hit Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

All the injured have been sent to local hospitals.

The earthquake, which measured 6.1 on the Richter scale, levelled approximately 800 houses and left another 200 on the verge of collapse in Zhaosu County, near the border between China and Kazakhstan.

An official with Xinjiang Regional Seismological Bureau told China Daily two rescue teams have been sent to the stricken area by the regional and State seismological bureaux, and the county's civil affairs department is organizing relief efforts.

The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps has also dispatched a team of emergency workers and the first batch of relief materials, including 300 tents and a relief fund of 500,000 yuan (US$60,240).

The affected area has a population of around 10,000.

Sources said the quake's epicentre was just inside Kazakhstan, about 20 kilometres from the border.

At press time, more than 30 aftershocks had rolled through the area,with the heaviest reaching 4.2 on the Richter scale.

In addition to the damage, victims have to deal with the harsh cold.

According to the county civil affairs department, the local temperature has dipped to as low as minus 16 C with about 10 centimetres of snow on the ground.

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