Strong earthquake hits Tibet; no casualties

The temblor, measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale, was the second strong quake to hit the region in a week.

An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale shook Tibet on Thursday, the second strong quake to hit the region in a week, local officials said.

HT Image

The earthquake, centred on sparsely populated Baingoin county, struck at 5.05 am local time, an official from the Tibetan seismological bureau in the regional capital Lhasa said on phone.

"We are sending a team out there now, so far we have no damage reports or any casualty reports," the official said.

The area is about 230 kilometres (142 miles) north of Lhasa.

An earlier temblor, also measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale, struck the northern part of Baingoin county near Tibet's border with Qinghai province last Friday, he added.