A powerful earthquake struck a sparsely populated area of China’s far western region of Xinjiang on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear if it caused casualties or significant damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude-6.8 quake was centered 269 kilometers (168 miles) east-southeast of Hotan at a depth of 12.5 kilometers (7.7 miles). The China Earthquake Networks Center measured the quake at magnitude 7.3 and said it was followed by at least seven smaller quakes within the following half hour.

Yutian county is a mountainous area several thousand meters above sea level on the edge of the Taklamakan desert.

The director of the Yutian Civil Affairs Bureau, Zhang Chong, said officials were still gathering information.

China’s worst earthquake in recent years was a magnitude-7.9 temblor that struck the southwestern province of Sichuan in 2008, leaving about 90,000 people dead or missing.