7.1 magnitude quake kills 67 in China’s Tibetan Autonomous Region

NEW DELHI - A 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit northwest China’s Qinghai Province early on Wednesday, killing at least 67 people with many others buried under the debris.

The quake struck the Yushu County in Yushu prefecture at 7:49 a.m. with a depth of about 33 km. The epicenter is calculated to be 33.1 north and 96.7 east, the China Earthquake Networks Center reported.

At least three aftershocks have been reported so far, with the biggest being 6.3 magnitude about an hour and 36 minutes later.

“Many are buried in the collapsed houses, There are still lots of others who are injured and being treated at local hospitals,” said Zhuohuaxia, a publicity official of Tibetan ethnic group with the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu.

“Our soldiers have pulled 10 people from the collapsed houses, but four of them had died. The death toll may rise further as lots of houses collapsed,” Xinhua quoted Wu Yong, commander of the Yushu Military Area Command, as saying.

“We are now putting up tents and transporting oxygen to prepare for treating the injured. But roads leading to the airport have been damaged, hampering the rescue efforts,” he added.

The epicenter was about 30 km away from the Jiegu Township, the government seat of the Yushu, and about 800 km away from Xining, the provincial capital.

Two rescue teams from Qinghai and Tibet have been dispatched to the quake-hit region, a spokesman with the China Earthquake Administration said. (ANI)