Four people have been confirmed dead and 48 others injured in a 6.5-magnitude earthquake that struck northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Friday morning, Xinhua news agency reported.

The quake rocked Pishan County of Hotan Prefecture at 9:07 a.m., with the epicenter recorded at 37.6 degrees north latitude and 78.2 degrees east longitude, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

The jolt, with a depth of 10 km, also demolished or damaged homes and disrupted communications, according to the prefecture committee of the Communist Party of China.