A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the Tibet autonomous region in western China on Thursday night, causing casualties, the South China Morning Post reports, citing the state news agency Xinhua and local authorities. No figures for the dead or injured were given.
The quake hit at 10.33pm local time at a shallow depth of about 10km, in Maru township in Baqen county, according to the US Geological Survey. Its epicentre was in a mountainous area about 190km east-northeast of Nagqu and about 390km northeast of the regional capital, Lhasa.
State media reported that houses had collapsed in the area and that power and telecommunications services had been disrupted. Shallow quakes of this size can cause severe damage, and the full extent of the harm in the remote, thinly populated area is not yet known.
Source: South China Morning Post
