Three moderate quakes strike China

Three moderate earthquakes measuring at least 5.0 in magnitude rattled remote areas of China on Tuesday, but no fatalities or damages were immediately reported.

Two quakes struck the Tanggula mountain range in northwestern Qinghai province with the first, measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, hitting just after 1000 GMT. One measuring 5.5 struck an hour later, the China Earthquake Administration said on its website.

An official at the Haixi Civil Affairs Bureau in Qinghai province, where the quakes hit, said they struck a remote area and no damages had been reported.

The US Geological Survey registered both quakes as having a 5.3 magnitude.

The third quake hit Tuesday afternoon, with the epicentre located in the nation's northern Inner Mongolia. It measured 5.2 on the Richter scale, the administration said.

No damages or fatalities were immediately reported there.

An 8.0-magnitude quake struck China's southwestern Sichuan province on May 12, devastating parts of the region and leaving more than 86,000 people dead or missing.