Death toll from Tibet earthquake rises to 126

As of 6:00 p.m. on January 7, Vietnam time, authorities confirmed that at least 126 people were killed and 188 injured, 28 people in critical condition were transferred to the City People's Hospital for treatment, and 3,609 houses collapsed after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake shook Dingri County, Shigatse City, Tibet Autonomous Region (China) on the morning of the same day.

The Tibet Autonomous Region Emergency Command has upgraded its earthquake emergency response to level 1 - the highest level.

The announcement said that based on the relevant circumstances of the disaster, the agency decided to upgrade the earthquake emergency response and immediately switch to a level-one earthquake emergency response status.

The People's Bank of China said that after the earthquake, it activated its emergency response mechanism and opened a "green channel" to transfer treasury funds to ensure that payment in disaster areas is not interrupted and that sufficient disaster relief funds are allocated in a timely manner.

As of 6 p.m. on January 7, the Shigatse Central Branch of the State Treasury had allocated a total of 400 million yuan ($54.6 million) in disaster relief subsidies to Dingri and Lazi counties.

As of 7:30 p.m. on January 7, Tibet Airlines had conducted a total of four rescue flights and provided relief supplies. The flights took off from Beijing, Chengdu, and Xining, transporting 72 rescue workers and some supplies to the disaster area to provide comprehensive support for earthquake relief work.

In order to support the earthquake-hit areas and help the affected people, Tibet Airlines has set up a special working group to coordinate all parties to clear the rescue support channels and transport relief goods into Tibet such as Qinghai-Tibet, Sichuan-Tibet, Shaanxi-Tibet, Beijing-Tibet, etc., and ensure the smooth transportation of goods to the disaster area.

From January 8, Tibet Airlines will also cooperate with Spring Airlines to transport winter clothes, instant noodles, drinking water and other emergency supplies from Shanghai to Shigatse.

In addition, the China Satellite Data and Application Center said it has mobilized eight satellites to record images of earthquake-hit areas in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The center plans to deploy more high-resolution satellites to take images to provide more accurate information about the situation after the earthquake.