The earthquake struck on Thursday evening, with footage showing rescue workers using torches to search through the rubble of some of the more than 300 houses that collapsed, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Videos aired by state broadcaster CCTV showed diners rushing out of restaurants and items falling from supermarket shelves as the tremor shook buildings across the affected area.
One resident told local media that her family had just gone to bed when the earthquake struck, sending objects tumbling inside their home and forcing them to flee without getting dressed.
“My legs were shaking the entire time I was heading downstairs and by the time I reached the bottom, I was so terrified that I burst into tears,” she said.
The woman added that residents were afraid to return to their homes, with some setting up tents along roadsides while others spent the night in their cars.
Another resident, speaking to the Beijing News, described the tremor as “very strong”, saying his home creaked and rattled during the incident.
“I was asleep when it hit. Everyone has run outside now and is too afraid to go back in. I’m currently driving to an open area to sleep in my car,” he said.
CCTV also showed emergency personnel carrying an injured person and inspecting damaged buildings, some of which had collapsed roofs.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for urgent search and rescue operations, the treatment of injured victims and the rapid deployment of relief supplies to affected communities.
“(We) must go all-out to carry out search and rescue operations and do our utmost to treat the injured, so as to minimise casualties,” Xinhua quoted him as saying.
The United States Geological Survey said the earthquake’s epicentre was in a mountainous area about 190 kilometres east-northeast of Nagqu and 390 kilometres northeast of Lhasa, the regional capital.
The tremor occurred at 10:33 p.m. local time on Thursday at a shallow depth of approximately 10 kilometres.
Lhawang Dagpo, a local official in Maru township, where the earthquake was centred, told Xinhua that the tremor caused cracks in the walls of his office.
Power and telecommunications services were also disrupted in the county seat, according to the agency.
Authorities have mobilised substantial resources for the relief operation. Baqing County deployed more than 1,600 people, while the municipal fire and rescue brigade dispatched 25 vehicles and 110 personnel.
The Nagqu Armed Police Detachment also sent 225 officers and soldiers, alongside 18 vehicles, to support the emergency response.
CCTV reported that relief supplies, including 1,000 prefabricated houses, 3,239 tents, four generators and 1,000 flashlights, had been delivered as part of the operation.
Tibet is largely inaccessible to foreign journalists, leaving Chinese state media and authorities as the main sources of official information about the disaster.
Earthquakes are relatively common in China. In January 2025, a quake in the rural Tingri county of Tibet killed at least 126 people.
In December 2023, another earthquake in the remote northwestern province of Gansu killed at least 148 people, according to state media.
China's deadliest earthquake in recent decades occurred in Sichuan province in 2008, leaving about 90,000 people d+ead or missing, including thousands of schoolchildren.
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