An earthquake of magnitude 7.4 struck Qinghai province in China, early on Saturday, the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) said.
The quake, which was upgraded from a preliminary magnitude of 7, was at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), GFZ said.
Two people were confirmed dead in the mountainous area, local officials said in a statement, adding that at least 17 others had been injured and were receiving treatment
The epicenter of the quake was about 523 kilometers (325 miles) west southwest of Lanzhou, China, which has a population of over 2.6 million, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC).
Qinghai is a sparsely populated province located on the northeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau.
