By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
At least 16 people were killed and 65 injured after a powerful 7.0 earthquake struck Tibet’s Nagqu town in China on Thursday night, with strong aftershocks continuing to shake the affected area on Friday morning.
“The quake has left 16 people dead and 65 injured”, the Chinese news agency Xinhua said quoting local authorities.
At least 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds were reported to have collapsed or suffered damage. More than 12,000 people have been relocated to safer areas, while over 1,600 personnel have been mobilised for rescue and relief work.
President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out search and rescue efforts for the missing and prompt medical treatment for the injured after the earthquake struck Nagqu town in Baquen county in southwest Tibet on Thursday night, Xinhua said. Xi also gave important instructions and called for every effort to minimize casualties.
Rescue operations are under way in the high-altitude region as authorities assess damage and move residents to safer locations.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the quake occurred at a depth of around 18 km at 8.03 pm (IST).
The continuing aftershocks have added to concerns over the safety of damaged buildings. The USGS recorded at least many aftershocks measuring between magnitude 4.3 and 5.2. China’s earthquake monitoring authorities reported a much larger number of aftershocks as rescue operations continued.
The earthquake also disrupted transport and communications. Rockfalls forced the closure of a section of National Highway 317, while railway services were temporarily halted as officials inspected tracks and infrastructure for damage.
Forecasts of intermittent snowfall over the next three days could further complicate relief operations.
Nagqu lies more than 300 km north of Lhasa, the Tibetan regional capital. The latest earthquake is among the strongest to hit the region in recent years, renewing concerns about seismic activity across the Tibetan Plateau, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collide.