This screenshot from the official microblog of China Earthquake Networks Center shows the epicenter of a 7.3-magnitude earthquake that stroke Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Feb 12,2014.

A 7.3-magnitude earthquake jolted Northwest China's Xinjiang?Uygur autonomous region at 5:19 p.m. Wednesday (Beijing Time), according to official readings by the China Earthquake Networks Center.

The epicenter, with a depth of 12 km, was located at Yutian county in southwest Xinjiang's Hotan prefecture, or about 36.1 degrees north latitude and 82.5 degrees east longitude, the center said in a statement.

23:58

An emergency rescue team arrives at Hetian, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on Feb 12, 2014, Xinhua reported

21:31

Two military helicopters were sent to the quake-stricken areas for relief work, CCTV reported.

21:29

There were 46 minor afterquakes recorded by the China Earthquake Networks Center after the 7.3-magnitude earthquake.

19:46

One section of railway connecting Hami and Hotan prefectures was closed after the quake.

Backgrounder: Yutian county is a mountainous area on the edge of the Kunlun Mountains, with a population of around 200,000.

"When the earthquake happened, I felt the desk shaking. I run downstairs; after more than a dozen seconds, the earthquake stopped,"chinanews.com quoted a staff member from the civil affairs bureau of Hotan prefecture as saying.

19:13

Hotan prefecture's earthquake administration has sent people to collect information in Yutian, Qira and minfeng counties. No casualties?were?reported.?

19:05

Footages from CCTV, China's state broadcaster showed there were no collapse of buildings and local residents were gathering outside in Yutian county.

19:03

Chinese president Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang called for all-out relief to the quake-stricken areas.

18:33

The Xinjiang earthquake administration said on its official microblog that the nearest settlement to the epicentre was some 50 km away and that the Yutian government had yet to receive any reports of damage.

The Xinjiang government said on its microblog that it planned to send a 20-person rescue team to the area, in which it said virtually nobody lived.

No immediate casualties or damage have been reported. The area is sparsely populated mostly by Uygurs. An earthquake of similar size struck the same area in 2008,?causing no injuries or damage.