2 quakes rock Tibet; 9 killed
Rescuers are trying to save people buried under rubble after hundreds of houses collapsed.
BEIJING — Two earthquakes jolted the capital of Tibet and surrounding areas Monday, killing at least nine people and collapsing hundreds of houses, China's state news agency said today. Rescuers rushed to try to save people buried in the rubble.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the first quake measured magnitude 6.6 and struck 50 miles west of Lhasa. The second measured 5.1 and struck about 10 miles west of the first, it said.
Earlier reports from China's official New China News Agency said at least 30 people died, but the agency revised the death toll to nine today.
Hundreds of houses collapsed in Gedar township near the epicenter in Dangxiong County, and traffic and telecommunications were cut. Nineteen people were injured, the news agency said, citing Hao Peng, deputy chairman of the Tibetan regional government.
An unknown number of people were trapped.
Deaths also were reported in a neighboring county, the agency said, but no figures were available.
China says Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries, although many Tibetans say their homeland was essentially independent for most of that time.
