BEIJING (AFP) — A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 hit the Himalayan region of Tibet on Monday, the US Geological Survey said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
The quake struck at 4:30 pm (0830 GMT) in a sparsely populated area about 84 kilometres (50 miles) west of the Tibetan capital Lhasa, the USGS said.
The USGS said another quake measuring 5.1, likely an aftershock, hit in roughly the same area 15 minutes later.
The quake could be felt in Lhasa, China's official Xinhua news agency reported, citing local sources.
The agency said the Tibetan seismological department had sent a team to the quake-hit area to investigate.
Early on Monday, a moderate earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 hit China's far northwest, just minutes after a 6.3-magnitude quake hit just over the border in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan.
China suffers frequent earthquakes. An 8.0-magnitude quake struck southwestern Sichuan province on May 12, flattening entire towns and leaving more than 87,000 people dead or missing.
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