Magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Tibet kills at least 16 and injures 46, state media says
More than 300 houses collapsed, Xinhua said officials were still evaluating the damage and relief work was ongoing…
State media, citing local authorities, said a powerful earthquake in the remote Tibet region of China has left at least 16 dead and 46 hurt. The 7.0-magnitude quake struck on Thursday at 10.33pm.
Homes collapsed and relief work under way
The tremor brought down over 300 houses. Local officials were cited by China Central Television (CCTV) as saying 46 people were injured, 11 of them seriously, and 339 houses had either collapsed or been damaged. Xinhua, the state news agency, said the damage was still being assessed by officials while relief efforts for the disaster continued.
An emergency response at level III for the earthquake disaster has been triggered in the area, CCTV said. Xinhua reported that relief work has drawn over 300 police officers, and the regional fire and rescue corps has sent 347 personnel into the affected areas.
CCTV footage showed rescue workers climbing across damaged buildings, a few with roofs that had caved in, and carrying one person. The footage further showed soldiers lined up and ready for deployment, and rescue workers aiming flashlights at other damaged buildings. When the quake hit, workers were seen running out of restaurants and objects tumbling from supermarket shelves in other videos that CCTV posted.
Epicentre in a mountainous area
According to the US Geological Survey, the epicentre lay in a mountainous area roughly 190km east-northeast of Nagqu and 390km northeast of Lhasa, the regional capital. The quake hit at a shallow depth, about 10km down. Baqen county's Maru township was where the epicentre lay.
Lhawang Dagpo, the township's deputy head, told Xinhua that the shaking was clearly felt at the township office, where cracks appeared in the walls. In the county seat, the agency added, electricity and telecoms services were disrupted.
Earlier quakes in China
Tibet's rural Tingri county was hit by an earthquake in January 2025 that killed at least 126 people. State media said at least 127 people died when a quake struck remote Gansu province, in northwest China, in December 2023.
