Dharamsala, Nov 30: An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 struck China’s remote Tibetan region on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey has said, but no information was available about possible damage or casualties.
Tuesday’s afternoon quake struck in central Tibet at 16:39 pm (0839 GMT) at a depth of 17 kilometres (10 miles) and was centred about 45 miles (75 kilometres) west of Lhasa, the regional capital of Tibet, the USGS said.
An official with the Tibet Earthquake Bureau who identified herself only as Lamu told AP that a rescue team has been dispatched to Damxung county. The bureau said the quake could be felt in Lhasa.
China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, however, said it was an earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale.
A devastating earthquake struck the predominantly Tibetan region of Yushu in Amdo (Chinese: Qinghai) province on April 14, flattening thousands of homes and leaving nearly 2,700 people dead and some 270 missing.
China, at the time, said the quake measured 7.1 on Richter scale, but the United States Geological Survey put the magnitude at 6.9.
