LHASA, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Sixteen people were killed and 65 others injured after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Baqen County of Nagqu City in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region at 10:33 p.m. Thursday, local authorities said on Friday.
Among the injured, 11 were in serious condition, while 54 sustained minor injuries, the city's earthquake relief headquarters said.
As of 10 a.m. Friday, 12,489 residents have been evacuated. Rescue and relief efforts, and the resettlement of affected residents, are underway, according to the headquarters.
Passenger trains on the quake-hit section of the Qinghai-Xizang Railway resumed service at reduced speed on Friday morning, according to China Railway Qinghai-Xizang Group Co., Ltd.
State Grid Xizang Electric Power Co., Ltd. said that as of 10 a.m., power had been restored to 1,937 households in the quake-hit area of Baqen County.
Quake relief supplies allocated by authorities at various levels have arrived in the quake-hit zone, including 1,000 sets of prefabricated houses, more than 3,200 tents, over 2,800 folding beds, and other daily necessities like quilts, stoves and clothes.
The area surrounding the epicenter has an average altitude of more than 4,800 meters. Temperatures there will drop as low as minus nine degrees Celsius over the next three days, with intermittent snow expected Saturday in the three townships near the epicenter, according to local weather forecast authorities. ■
