LHASA, Oct. 23 -- A magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck Baqen County of Nagqu City in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region at 10:33 p.m. on October 22, at a depth of 10 kilometers. As of 10:00 a.m. on October 23, 16 people had died and 76 others injured.

Following the earthquake, the joint operations command center of the Chinese PLA Western Theater Command activated its emergency response mechanism. It immediately verified the disaster situation, assessed the terrain and weather conditions in the affected areas, directed air assets to conduct reconnaissance, and instructed the nearby troops to rush to the affected villages and towns.

At around midnight on October 23, an air force unit assigned to the Chinese PLA Western Theater Command launched an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to survey the earthquake-hit area and transmit real-time footage.

Upon receiving orders late at night, the Chinese PLA Xizang Military Command and the Chinese People's Armed Police (PAP) Xizang Corps immediately dispatched more than 300 troops in over 20 vehicles, carrying rescue supplies and equipment, to travel by road to the disaster area overnight.

Troops from the Nagqu Military Sub-command under the Chinese PLA Xizang Military Command and the Nagqu Detachment under the Chinese PAP Xizang Corps have now arrived in the two hardest-hit villages and begun rescue operations.