Quake strikes China, Tajikistan border; kills at least one: agency

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 struck China's northwestern border with Tajikistan killing at least 1 person, destroying houses and severing a railway line in the sparsely populated region, state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday.

Rescue teams in the Xinjiang region have been sent to help isolated communities in Akto County, which sits on China's mountainous border with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Xinhua said the quake hit the area late on Friday evening, and its magnitude was measured by the China Earthquakes Networks Center.

The U.S. Geological Survey had reported that a 6.7 magnitude quake, with a depth 75 kilometers (46.6 miles), struck the area at around 10:24 p.m. (1424 GMT) on Friday, but later downgraded the magnitude to 6.5.

(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

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