| |
BEIJING: A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 hit the Himalayan region of Tibet on Monday, the US Geological Survey said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
The quake struck at 4:30 pm (0830 GMT) in a sparsely populated area about 84 kilometres (50 miles) west of the Tibetan capital Lhasa, the USGS said.
The USGS said another quake measuring 5.1, likely an aftershock, hit in roughly the same area 15 minutes later.
The quake could be felt in Lhasa, China's official Xinhua news agency reported, citing local sources.
"I was shaken for a few seconds and lamps in the office swayed. Then everything returned to normal," Xinhua quoted one of its own Lhasa-based reporters as saying.
"Judging from how I felt, the tremor would not damage the cultural relics in Lhasa... There is no panic in the streets now. Shops remain open."
Xinhua also quoted its local staff as saying there was no visible damage to Lhasa's world-famous Potala Palace.
The agency said the Tibetan seismological department had sent a team to investigate the quake-hit area in Damxung county.
"There are no reports yet of casualties," an official at the Damxung civil affairs bureau told AFP by telephone. "But in Damxung city, the earthquake was pretty strong."
Early Monday, a moderate earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 hit China's far northwest, just minutes after a 6.6-magnitude quake hit just over the border in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, killing at least 72 people.
China suffers frequent earthquakes. An 8.0-magnitude quake struck southwestern Sichuan province on May 12, flattening entire towns and leaving more than 87,000 people dead or missing.
- AFP/so
|
