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LHASA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- A total of 13 people were killed and another four remain missing in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, after a powerful earthquake struck neighboring Nepal on Saturday, local authorities said.
A massive 8.1-magnitude quake shook Nepal at 2:11 p.m.(Beijing Time), followed by a second 7.0-magnitude quake at 2:45 p.m.. More than 900 people, including 256 in the capital of Kathmandu, have been killed in the earthquake, which jolted large parts of Nepal as well as eastern India and Bangladesh.
The quake also strongly affected some counties in Tibet.
Of the 13 killed, seven are in the county of Nyalam and six others in the county of Gyirong. Four residents in Nyalam are missing as of 1:30 a.m. Sunday. Both counties in Xigaze are about 40 km from the epicenter.
The quake also damaged buildings and roads and cut off telecommunications in the two counties and several neighboring regions. As of 1 a.m. Sunday, the roads leading to the two counties have been cleared, but rescue efforts are hampered by heavy snow in the area.
The temblor damaged several temples in Tibet's border area, but no casualties have been reported so far.
Following strong earthquakes in Nepal, a 5.9-magnitude quake shook Dingri County of Xigaze at 5:17 p.m. Saturday.
Chen Quanguo, Communist Party of China chief of Tibet, has ordered to evacuate people in the quake-hit regions to avoid further deaths and injuries from aftershocks and secondary disasters.
About 600 border guards are currently involved in the rescue operation in Nyalam and Gyirong.
A total of 3,204 firefighters and 87 sniffer dogs from Tibet and neighboring provinces have also been readied to go to the quake-struck areas as a reinforcement.
Meanwhile, the authorities are sending tents, quilts, clothes, medicine and bottled water to the regions.
