Hundreds rescued
Earthquake in Tibet: Thousands of people evacuated
After the severe earthquake in the Himalayan region of Tibet in southwest China, rescue workers have rescued more survivors. In sub-zero temperatures on Wednesday, they pulled injured people from the rubble of collapsed houses. At least 126 people were killed and a further 188 injured in the 6.8-magnitude quake on Tuesday. More than 30,000 people were brought to safety.
Around 24 hours after the quake, trapped people are still at risk of hypothermia and dehydration. Temperatures in the high-altitude region dropped to minus 18 degrees Celsius during the night.
According to the state news agency Xinhua, more than 12,000 firefighters, soldiers, police and rescue workers are involved in the rescue and recovery work. Tents, blankets and other equipment for cold days have been provided for those affected. Temperatures in Tingri were minus eleven degrees on Tuesday and are expected to drop to minus 16 degrees by Thursday morning, according to the Chinese weather service.
Around 62,000 people live in the affected county in the autonomous region of Tibet. The infrastructure in the countryside is significantly worse than in cities such as Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Many of the collapsed houses were apparently built from stones, mud bricks and wooden beams.
The epicenter of Tuesday's quake, one of the strongest in the region in recent years, was in Tingri in the Chinese autonomous region of Tibet, around 80 kilometers north of Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain. It also shook regions in the neighboring countries of Nepal, Bhutan and India.
At least 126 dead
According to the Chinese authorities, at least 126 people died in the quake. No fatalities have yet been reported from Nepal or other countries.
Earthquakes occur more frequently in southwest China, Nepal and northern India. In 2015 alone, around 9,000 people died in a magnitude 7.8 quake near Kathmandu.
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
Kommentare
Willkommen in unserer Community! Eingehende Beiträge werden geprüft und anschließend veröffentlicht. Bitte achten Sie auf Einhaltung unserer Netiquette und AGB. Für ausführliche Diskussionen steht Ihnen ebenso das krone.at-Forum zur Verfügung. Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.
