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Quake with epicenter near major tunnel occurs in trans-Baikal area

The epicenter of the quake was located 65 kilometers to the southeast of the township of Severomuisk

ULAN-UDE, January 24 (Itar-Tass) – An earthquake measuring 3.3 points on the open-ended Richter scale occurred late night Monday in the northern districts of Russia’s Buryatia region, located to the east of Lake Baikal.

“The epicenter of the quake was located 65 kilometers to the southeast of the township of Severomuisk and 70 kilometers to the southwest of the township of Taksimo of the Muisky district,” a spokesperson for the Buryatia regional branch of the federal Ministry for Emergency Situations and Civil Defense /EMERCOM/ told Itar-Tass.

The positioning of the epicenter means the earthquake occurred in the area immediately adjoining the vital Northern Muya tunnel on the Baikal-Amur trunk railway line.

“No tectonic cataclysms were felt in the towns and villages in the area and the Baikal-Amur railway, including the 15-kilometers-long tunnel, as well as local housing and utility services, and power generating facilities are functioning in the normal mode of operations,” the EMERCOM spokesperson said.