16 killed as quake strikes China’s remote Tibet region

China ordered an “all-out” rescue effort in a remote area of Tibet yesterday after an earthquake killed at least 16 people and injured dozens more, state media reported.

Footage showed rescue workers clambering in the dark through some of the 339 houses that Xinhua said collapsed or were damaged in Thursday evening’s 7.0-magnitude quake.

Diners ran out of restaurants and items fell off wobbling supermarket shelves as the tremor struck, footage on state broadcaster CCTV showed.

Xinhua said that 76 people were injured, 11 of them seriously, and that over 12,000 residents were evacuated following the tremor at 10:33 pm (1433 GMT).

Hundreds of rescue workers and police were deployed, as well as sniffer dogs and equipment, to locate people under the rubble, CCTV said. More than 300 soldiers were also mobilised.

The epicentre was in Baqing county, a thinly populated area over 4,500 metres (14,800 feet) above sea level and at least a 10-hour drive from regional capital Lhasa, state media said.

One resident told local media that her family had just gone to bed when her home shook, knocking over objects, and that they “rushed outside without even taking the time to get dressed”.

“My legs were shaking the entire time I was heading downstairs, and by the time I reached the bottom, I was so terrified that I burst into tears,” the woman said.

Local residents “are afraid to return to their homes”, she said. “They set up tents along the roadside or spent the night in their cars.”

A man told the Beijing News that the “very strong” quake left his home “creaking and rattling”.

“I was asleep when it hit. Everyone has run outside now and is too afraid to go back in. I’m currently driving to an open area to sleep in my car,” he said.

Broadcaster CCTV also showed emergency personnel with helmets carrying a person and shining flashlights on damaged buildings, some with collapsed roofs.

Tibet is largely inaccessible to foreign journalists and Chinese authorities are the only source of official information.