VIENTIANE, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Laos-China Railway Co. Ltd., which is in charge of the construction of the China-Laos railway running through northern Laos, said on Thursday that the railway construction was not affected by a shallow earthquake.
The 6.1-magnitude quake jolted the border area between northern Thailand and Laos at 6:50 a.m. local time on Thursday with a depth of 10 km, according to U.S. Geological Survey.
The 414.332-km railway, with 198-km tunnels and 62-km bridges, will run from Boten border gate in northern Laos, bordering China, to Vientiane with an operating speed of 160 km per hour.
Bounphak Inthapanya, deputy governor of the Xayabury Province, told reporters with local online newspaper Vientiane Times that all the districts of the province might be affected by the earthquake with Hongsa district being worse hit.
"Some buildings were damaged, but the provincial government has not received detailed report of damage and casualties," he said.
The deputy governor also said that the provincial government has dispatched officials to every district to collect earthquake information.
Local villager Dedmany Ngaosavath in Xayabury Province told Xinhua that he was awakened by the tremors of the quake.
"My kid was also awake. She asked me whether there was early morning construction outside and I told her it was an earthquake," he said over the phone on Thursday morning.
