China evacuates people from quake-hit Tibetan town

Beijing, April 30: China has begun the evacuation of nearly 6,000 people trapped in a quake-hit Tibetan town along the Nepal border after its entry highway was cleared of obstructions caused by the temblor.

Access to Zham Town in Nyalam County in Tibet was cut off until Tuesday after the earthquake in Nepal on Saturday.

The rescue headquarters yesterday decided to evacuate nearly 6,000 people after the entry highway was cleared. As of 3:40 pm, more than 2,000 had been evacuated, mainly to Lhatse county and the suburbs of Xigaze city.

More than 600 tents had been set up at the resettlement site in Lhatse for the first batch of displaced residents, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Several foreign tourists are also trapped in Zham Town, which is an important customs checkpoint.

Twenty five people were killed and 797 others injured in Tibet due to the catastrophic Nepal earthquake.

The quake toppled 2,535 houses and damaged 25,821 affecting nearly 300,000 people, among whom 52,433 were displaced. A total of 85 temples were also damaged.

PTI