Southwest Beijing was struck by a minor earthquake early Tuesday morning following the collapse of an abandoned coal pit, Caixin reports. The magnitude 2.7 earthquake hit Beijing’s Da'anshan Township, in the Fangshan District, at about 1am on Tuesday. No injuries or damage was reported.
The tremor was caused by the collapse of unused coal pits. It was felt in Xiyuan Village, which is located about four kilometers away from the epicenter.
Coal has been mined in Da'anshan Township for thousands of years. Xiyuan Village alone has been home to numerous coal pits since the 1990s, many of which have been recently abandoned. Most are owned by Haohua Energy Resource Co. Ltd.
According to a former minor, this is not the first time an earthquake caused by the collapse of coal mines has occurred in the area. Yang Wenrong, 64, says that he experienced a more serious quake before that moved his furniture and cracked his floor, state media reports.
In 2011, there were claims that the government had plans to relocate tens of thousands of residents of Fangshan in three years’ time. However, little progress has been made on this front.
[Image via Caixin]
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