At least 16 people have died in a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Tibet, Al Jazeera reported, with blocked roads and rockfalls making it difficult to reach the area as search operations continue Friday.
Xinhua, citing Nagqu's emergency management bureau, reported 32 people injured as of 2:25 p.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 22 (18:25 UTC), including 11 seriously injured. Reuters cited local officials who put the figure as high as 65; The Associated Press, citing official media, reported 54. The reports did not provide matching cutoff times.
Katrina Yu, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Beijing, said blocked roads and rockfalls were making access difficult. Beijing announced it had deployed 1,600 rescue personnel. Xinhua said authorities activated the area's level-II earthquake disaster emergency response.
Nagqu's disaster response command reported homes collapsed or damaged in 339 households and damage to 20 livestock sheds in a CCTV News WeChat post cited by ccwb.cn. Xinhua also reported a power outage and weak communications in the county seat.
Al Jazeera reported that the quake was the strongest to hit China since January 2024 and said authorities warned the death toll could rise. Yu said forecasts called for snow soon and over the next several days. Search and rescue continued Friday, while damage assessments were ongoing.
EconoTimes earlier covered the initial casualty reports and differing injury totals.
