Dead and injured: earthquake shakes northern Tibet

Dead and injured earthquake shakes northern Tibet As of: October 23, 2026 • 5:01 a.m

Tibet was hit by a massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake. There are at least 16 dead and dozens injured, and hundreds of buildings collapsed. Since then there have been several aftershocks.

At least 16 people have died in the severe earthquake in China. At least 54 others were injured in the accident in the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the disaster control department in the city of Nagqu.

Eleven of the injured were therefore in critical condition. The tremors caused more than 300 houses to collapse, Xinhua reported. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the Chinese Earthquake Observatory (CENC), the magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurred at 4:33 p.m. CEST (10:33 p.m. local time) around 180 kilometers northeast of Nagqu - at a depth of ten kilometers.

Surveillance camera footage appeared on China's social media showing shaking shelves in supermarkets and shaking ceiling lights in homes. Chinese state television also broadcast videos showing people rushing out of a restaurant in panic as the earth began to shake.

Since then, several aftershocks have been recorded in the region. The quake occurred in Baqen County, which belongs to the city of Nagqu. Tibet's capital Lhasa is about 400 kilometers further southwest. The area around Nagqu is considered sparsely populated. According to Xinhua, the area in the area of ​​the epicenter is at an average altitude of 4,800 meters.

The government sent 350 rescue workers from the fire department and 83 vehicles to the disaster area. It is important to press ahead with search and rescue efforts with all our might, to provide medical care to the injured and to keep the number of deaths and injuries as low as possible, said China's state and party leader Xi Jinping, according to the Xinhua news agency.

The earthquake was the strongest in China so far this year - according to Chinese state media, it was also the strongest quake in the region in five years. Severe earthquakes occur again and again in China. In January 2025, an earthquake in rural Tingri county in Tibet killed at least 126 people.

Hardly any information comes out of the affected Tibetan areas from state-controlled media. more

This topic in the program: The First | daily news | Oct 23, 2026 | 01:48 am