Focus shifts to Tibet earthquake survivors as search stalls

BEIJING – Authorities moved more than 46,000 people in earthquake-hit Tibet to shelters in a large-scale rescue operation at the foot of the Himalayas, ending a search in a high-altitude environment where the chances of survival were always slim.

The epicenter of the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that occurred on January 7, one of the strongest tremors the Chinese region has witnessed in recent years, was in Tengri, a rural county with a population of about 60,000 located about 80 kilometers north of Mount Everest. .

The quake shook buildings as far away as Nepal and parts of India, destroying more than 3,600 homes around Tingri, presenting a massive task for rescuers in an area with an average elevation of more than 4,000 metres.

Forty-eight hours after the quake, experts say people trapped under the rubble likely succumbed to hypothermia, with temperatures dropping to minus 18 degrees Celsius at night.

A preliminary toll on the night of January 7 showed that at least 126 people were killed and 188 injured, according to Chinese official media. It remained unchanged until January 9.

The Xinhua News Agency reported that rescue operations focused on 27 villages within a 20-kilometre radius of Tingri. The area is home to 7,000 people.

On January 8, Chinese officials ended the search for survivors, saying that the focus had shifted to transporting the displaced and treating the wounded after 407 people were recovered from the rubble.

The authorities have not yet determined 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 official permission 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 has described him as a “separatist.”

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on January 8: “Under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, people in disaster areas will definitely be able to overcome the disaster and rebuild their homes.”

“We are well aware of the Dalai Lama’s divisive nature and political designs, and remain on high alert.”

State media said on January 9, citing the China Earthquake Networks Center, that the earthquake followed the pressure of the Indian plate towards the north.

The plate, which collided with the Eurasian plate about 50 million years ago, continues to move 5 cm northeast each year.

The Jan. 7 earthquake was so strong that part of the terrain surrounding the epicenter slid as much as 1.6 meters over a distance of 80 kilometers, according to a USGS analysis.

Reconstruction

Panchen Lama Gyaltsen Norbu, second only to the Dalai Lama in spiritual authority, chanted prayers with about 900 monks on January 8 at Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The man identified by Beijing in 1995 as the 11th Panchen Lama but not recognized by the Dalai Lama also donated to earthquake relief efforts, Xinhua said.

China's response after the disaster was rapid, with 11,000 rescuers deployed to the earthquake area within hours of the first tremors. There were more than 1,000 aftershocks.

Zhang Guoping, Vice Premier of the State Council, led the earthquake relief efforts by visiting the worst-hit areas.

He was quoted by the Xinhua News Agency as saying on January 8 that the reconstruction process must be accelerated to ensure that the displaced are able to move to safe and warm homes as quickly as possible.

State media said that about 46,500 people affected by the earthquake were transferred to 187 resettlement sites in towns surrounding the epicenter in Tingri.

CCTV reported that rescue personnel began constructing prefabricated homes to replace the tents of the displaced. About 1,000 of the earthquake-resistant and heated houses will be 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 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck Minling in the east, the strongest earthquake to hit southern Tibet since 1950.

The Mainling earthquake triggered more than 300 aftershocks, affecting more than 12,000 people and damaging about 3,000 homes. Three people were injured. Reuters

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