The Chinese Seismological Network detected four strong earthquakes Friday morning in Yutian County to the west of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region with the strongest measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale.

The epicenter was located at 35.6 degrees north latitude and 81.6 degrees east longitude.

The strongest jolt, also the earliest one, occurred at 6:33 AM Friday (Beijing Time). The three minors measuring between 5.2 to 5 on the Richter scale soon followed between 7:00AM and 8:00 AM.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damages.

(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2008)