Seventeen people died and 53 were injured in Tibet after a 5.3-magnitude tremor rocked Nyalam County at 1:42 a.m. on Sunday. The county is found at the Tibet Autonomous region in southwest China.

The early morning earthquake came a day after a powerful 8.1-magnitude temblor shook Nepal at 2:11 p.m., which was followed by a 7-magnitude quake after 34 minutes, killing almost 2,000 Nepalese.

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The China Earthquake Networks Center identified the epicenter of Tibet's quake at 28.2 degrees north latitude and 85.9 degrees east longtitude. It was 10 kilometers deep, reports Xinhua.net.

Phayul.com reports that deep cracks were found in Tibet's National Road No. 318, which is two kilometers from Nyalam, as a result of the temblor. Several buildings and more than 1,000 houses in Nyalam and Kyirong counties were destroyed by the quake, as well as telecommunications lines. At Xigaze County, there were no casualties, but 54 temples were damaged after a separate 5.9-magnitude tremor shook Xigaze on Saturday evening.

While roads leading to the two Tibetan counties are clear, heavy snow prevents rescue teams from reaching the two earthquake-affected areas.

More than 3,000 firefighters, 600 border guards and 87 sniffer dogs were deployed to the quake-struck areas in Tibet, reports Business Standard.

Meanwhile, China joined other countries in sending rescue teams to Nepal. On Sunday morning, the China International Search & Rescue Team with 62 members left Beijing to help in rescuing Nepalese buried by the tremor. The chartered jet is scheduled to land in Katmandu by noon of Sunday.

Tagsearthquake, Tibet