16 killed after M7.0 quake hits China's Xizang, rescue efforts underway

Sixteen people were killed and 46 others injured after a magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck Baqen County of Nagqu City in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region at 10:33 p.m. Thursday (Beijing Time), according to the city's emergency management bureau.

Among the injured, 11 are in serious condition and 35 have sustained minor injuries, according to the latest update early Friday morning.

The tremor has led to the collapse or damage of 339 houses, and 20 livestock sheds have been affected.

The China Earthquake Administration has initiated a Level-II emergency response following the quake. Rescue forces, including police, fire services and medical personnel, have arrived at the affected area and began intensive rescue operations.

Xizang has activated a Level-III earthquake disaster emergency response, according to the regional emergency command center.

The damage caused by the quake is being further evaluated.

Read more: Live updates: 16 killed, 46 injured after M7.0 quake hits Nagqu City in China's Xizang

Rescue underway

More than 300 police officers have been dispatched to the epicenter for relief work, while the regional fire and rescue corps has mobilized 347 personnel to the affected area.

Upon receiving orders late at night, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Xizang Military Command and the People's Armed Police Force Xizang Contingent immediately activated their earthquake relief contingency plans, deploying over 300 personnel and more than 20 vehicles to travel through the night to the disaster-stricken area.

A unit of the PLA Western Theater Command Air Force dispatched an unmanned aerial vehicle to survey the disaster zone and transmit real-time footage back to the base.

Following the earthquake, public security organs in the Xizang Autonomous Region immediately activated their emergency response plan. More than 300 police officers – including special police, traffic police, and personnel from community-based police service stations in Baqen County, as well as officers from the Maru Township and Gangqie Township police stations, the Nagqu Municipal Public Security Bureau, and the public security organs of the neighboring Biru and Sog counties were urgently dispatched to the epicenter to carry out rescue and relief operations.

The regional fire and rescue corps has already dispatched 82 vehicles, carrying over 4,200 pieces of equipment and more than 9,400 items of support supplies. Meanwhile, the Lhasa and Shannan detachments have been placed on standby to provide reinforcements.

To ensure emergency power supply, the State Grid Xizang Electric Power Company Limited has deployed 23 personnel, 6 vehicles, 49 sets of lighting equipment, and 2 low-voltage mobile power generation units to the quake-stricken area. Emergency crews have been working through the night to inspect power infrastructure.

Disaster relief supplies, coordinated across the four levels of central, autonomous region, municipal, and county authorities, began arriving in the affected area in the early hours of Friday. These supplies include 1,000 prefabricated housing units, 3,239 tents, 2,821 folding beds, 4,280 quilts, 200 stoves, 100 mattresses, 2,000 sets of cotton-padded winter clothing, 1,760 military-style overcoats, 4 power generators, 1,000 flashlights, 1,000 outdoor headlamps, and 694 traditional Tibetan robes.

Meanwhile, transportation authorities in the region have mobilized personnel to conduct emergency post-earthquake inspections throughout the night, covering roads, bridges, tunnels, unstable rocks on slopes, and various other highway structures in the affected areas, in order to maintain an updated assessment of the road safety conditions.