Rescuers pledged to respect the Ramadan customs of local Muslims after a deadly 6.5-magnitude quake hit Hotan prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region on Friday morning, killing three.

The quake in Pishan county also injured 71 others, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The death toll is unlikely to be high as the local population density is only four people per square kilometer, said Pan Huaiwen, Director of the China Earthquake Networks Center.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs and the China National Commission for Disaster Reduction have sent work teams to assist relief efforts in the quake-hit areas and have urged the preparation of relief materials. A total of 1,000 tents have been sent to the county.

"Local residents urgently need tents and quilts. Many hospitalized people who were injured have to lie in the sun while getting intravenous drips as hospitals are short of beds," said Cheng Xiaojun, a team leader dispatched by the Blue Sky Rescue Team to Pishan.

He told the Global Times that they will not attempt to persuade patients to eat if the patients insisted on fasting during Ramadan, when Muslims do not eat or drink during the daytime.

One drone was dispatched to the quake-hit area around 11 am, assessing disaster relief needs in real time, marking the first mission of this kind, according to the Ministry of National Defense.