By Joe Cash and Ryan Woo
BEIJING (Reuters) – Authorities moved more than 45,000 people in earthquake-hit Tibet to shelters in a massive rescue operation near the foothills of the Himalayas, as they called off a high-altitude search where the odds of survival were always slim.
The epicenter of Tuesday’s magnitude 6.8 earthquake, one of the strongest in the Chinese region in recent years, was in Tingri, a rural county with a population of about 60,000 about 80 km (50 miles) north of Mount Everest.
The quake shook buildings as far away as Nepal and parts of India, and destroyed more than 3,600 houses around Tingri, posing a difficult task for rescuers in an area where the average elevation is more than 4,000 meters (13,000 feet).
Forty-eight hours after the quake, experts say those trapped under the rubble likely succumbed to hypothermia, with temperatures dropping as low as minus 18 degrees Celsius (0 degrees Fahrenheit) at night.
Initial figures on Tuesday evening showed that at least 126 people were killed and 188 injured, according to Chinese state media. It remained unchanged on Thursday.
Rescue operations are focused on 27 villages within a radius of 20 km from Tingri, reports the state news agency Xinhua. The area is home to 7,000 people.
Chinese officials on Wednesday suspended the search for survivors, saying the focus was shifting to relocating the displaced and treating the injured after pulling 407 people from the rubble.
Authorities have yet to say how many people are still missing.
The State Council Information Office, which handles media inquiries on behalf of the central government, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Foreign journalists need an official permit to enter Tibet, which has been under Chinese rule since a failed uprising in 1959.
The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India, said he was deeply saddened by the earthquake and would pray for the victims.
Beijing declared him a “separatist”.
“Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee, people in the disaster-stricken areas will surely be able to overcome the disaster and rebuild their homes,” a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
“We are well aware of the Dalai Lama’s divisive nature and political agenda and remain on high alert.”
The quake followed the compression of the Indian plate to the north, state media reported Thursday, citing the China Earthquake Network Center. The plate, which collided with the Eurasian plate about 50 million years ago, continues to move 5 cm (1.97 inches) northeast each year.
Tuesday’s quake was so strong that some of the terrain around the epicenter slid as much as 1.6 meters (5 feet 3 inches) over a distance of 80 km (50 miles), according to an analysis by the United States Geological Survey.
RECONSTRUCTION
Gyaltsen Norbu, the Panchen Lama and second only to the Dalai Lama in spiritual authority, chanted prayers with about 900 monks on Wednesday at Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse, according to Xinhua.
Norbu, who was identified by Beijing as the 11th Panchen Lama in 1995 but not recognized by the Dalai Lama, also made a donation for earthquake relief, Xinhua reported.
China’s post-disaster response was swift, with 11,000 rescuers deployed to the quake zone within hours of the first tremors. There were more than 1,000 aftershocks.
Zhang Guoping, the vice president of the government, led the earthquake relief efforts by visiting the worst affected areas.
Reconstruction must be accelerated to ensure that the displaced can move into safe and warm homes as soon as possible, Xinhua quoted Zhang as saying on Wednesday.
About 46,500 people affected by the earthquake have been moved to 187 relocation sites in towns surrounding the epicenter in Tingri, state media reported.
Rescue workers have begun setting up prefabricated houses to replace tents for the displaced, CCTV reported. About 1,000 earthquake-resistant and heated houses are being sent to Tingri and can be erected in about 10 minutes.
The last similar earthquake to hit the region was in November 2017 when a magnitude 6.9 quake hit Mainling in the east, the strongest to hit southern Tibet since 1950.
The Mainling earthquake triggered more than 300 aftershocks, affecting over 12,000 people and damaging nearly 3,000 houses. Three people were injured.
