Rescuers search door to door after magnitude-7.0 quake in Xizang

Rescuers went door to door in villages near the epicenter of a magnitude-7.0 earthquake that struck Drachen county, Xizang autonomous region, looking for anyone in need of help.

In Gangche township, one of the areas closest to the epicenter, rescue workers began searching for people trapped in their homes in the early hours of Friday morning.

Surveillance footage shared by local media showed buildings shaking violently, with goods tumbling from shelves as residents rushed outside to escape the quake on Thursday night. In Maru township, one of the hardest-hit areas, the earthquake cracked the ground and caused sections of road to sink, China Central Television reported.

"Suddenly, there was a tremendous rumbling. For a moment, it felt as if hundreds of yaks were running at once," said Dzondru Tseltrim, a resident of Garuthang village in the county.

His family had already gone to bed when the shaking began. Woken by the tremors, he heard cabinets and wooden pillars creaking inside the house. He rushed to wake his father, in his 80s, and helped him outside. Other family members soon followed.

Fearing aftershocks, the family decided not to sleep indoors that night. They arranged for his father to rest in a car while the others prepared to spend the night in the courtyard.