China has deployed satellites and drones – eyes in the sky for rescue teams and damage assessment – after a magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region on Thursday night.

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) said Friday it moved immediately, coordinating satellite resources for emergency communications and imaging of the quake zone.

CASC has opened multiple high-throughput satellite internet lines for the Ministry of Emergency Management, local emergency authorities, and major telecom operators, with more terminals on the way.

By 7 a.m. Beijing Time Friday, it had delivered four pre-disaster and three post-disaster images of the quake zone.

A Wing Loong drone lifted off from an airport in Xigaze in the early hours of Friday, flying into the quake zone to observe the damage and keep communications up, according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). Other Wing Loong teams are on stand-by.

The People's Liberation Army Air Force also scrambled a drone around midnight to survey the damage.