URUMQI -- Eight people have been confirmed dead and 11 others were injured after a 5.5-magnitude earthquake jolted Taxkorgan County in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region at 5:58 a.m. Thursday.

Witnesses said frequent tremors have been felt after the quake.

The search and rescue work is underway. The injured people have been sent to hospital for treatment.

The epicenter, with a depth of about 8.0 km, was monitored at 37.58 degrees north latitude and 75.25 degrees east longitude in the southeast part of the Pamir Plateau.

Taxkorgan, some 1,250 kilometers from Urumqi, capital of the region, borders Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.