Related: Life back to normal in NE China after earthquake   

    CHANGCHUN, March 31 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale jolted China's northeastern Jilin Province on Friday and no casualties have been confirmed so far.

A 7-year-old boy spends the night in a mini-coach after a quake in the village of Laoyingtai in Songyuan City, Jilin Province, Apr. 1, 2006. An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale jolted Jilin Province at 8:23 p.m. on Friday with the epicenter in Laoyingtai. No casualties have been confirmed so far. (Photo: Xinhua)

    The quake struck at 8:23 p.m. on Friday with the epicenter in Laoyingtai Village located across Qian'an and Qian'guo counties in Songyuan City, about 200 km north of the provincial capital of Changchun, according to Zheng Yaqin, deputy head of the seismological bureau of Changchun City.

    The quake, followed by two aftershocks, has a strong destructive force, said officials with the bureau.

    Cracks can be seen on the walls of a number of houses in the village and some warehouses have collapsed.

    Rescuers are working at the site and seismological experts are rushing to the epicenter area.

    The quake has been felt by residents of most parts of Jilin and some regions in the neighboring provinces of Liaoning and Heilongjiang, and the northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Enditem