site.btaNo Reports of Bulgarian Citizens Injured in Tibet Earthquake

The Bulgarian Embassy in Beijing said that there are currently no reports of Bulgarian citizens injured in the earthquake in Tibet, China, Ministry of Foreign Affairs told BTA.

The number of victims of the powerful earthquake in Tibet has gone up to at least 53 people on Tuesday, DPA reported. The 7.1-magnitude earthquake had its epicentre in Tibet at a depth of about 10 kilometres, the US Geological Survey reported. The Chinese news agency Xinhua reported, citing local authorities, that at least 53 people were killed and 62 were injured. Many houses near the epicentre collapsed.

The earthquake was registered about 400 kilometres west of the Tibetan capital Lhasa. The Chinese military has sent an unmanned aircraft to survey the epicentre, Xinhua also reported. Rescue operations are underway, and residents are being evacuated to avoid possible aftershocks. The China Earthquake Networks Centre reported the quake's magnitude at 6.8.

Tibet, as well as the entire southwestern part of China, Nepal and northern India, is often hit by earthquakes.