BEIJING -- China's Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) has sent relief supplies to quake-hit areas in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region following a 5.5-magnitude earthquake early Thursday morning.

The quake relief materials comprised blankets. coats, sleeping bags, tents and folding beds, tables and chairs, according to the MCA.

Eight deaths have been reported and another 23 were injured in the quake that jolted Taxkorgan County at 5:58 a.m. Thursday. Over 1,500 houses have been destroyed or badly damaged.

The ministry and China National Commission for Disaster Reduction jointly initiated grade-IV emergency response measures and dispatched rescue teams to the area.

Taxkorgan County is 1,250 kilometers from the regional capital Urumqi and borders Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.