A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck western China on Wednesday, near the city of Yining in Xinjiang province close to the Kazakhstan border, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

State media said that at least 19 people were killed and 247 more injured late Tuesday after a powerful earthquake struck a popular tourist area in western China.

At least five of the people who died were tourists, Xinhua reported, citing the information office of the provincial government. About 2,800 people were evacuated from the severely damaged Intercontinental hotel.

Source: Fana News