USGS: 6.5-magnitude quake strikes northwest China

BEIJING (AP) - So far, there are no reports of deaths or injury after a strong earthquake that struck remote northwestern China Monday morning.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake had a magnitude of 6.5 and puts the epicenter about 1,100 miles west of Beijing. China's Earthquake Administration confirms the quake, but says it had a magnitude of 6.3 on China's scale.

An official says authorities have sent 180 people to investigate but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

China's far west is fairly earthquake-prone. A 7.9 magnitude earthquake last May devastated wide parts of Sichuan province, just east of Tibet. Some 70,000 people were killed and five million were left homeless.

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