An earthquake of magnitude 5 struck Tibet on Thursday, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).The quake occurred at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), GFZ said.The earthquake struck as rescue and recovery operations continued in Tibet following catastrophic flooding near the Gyirong border crossing with Nepal last week.China on Wednesday fully reopened the only road leading to the Gyirong crossing after sections of it were washed away, allowing heavy machinery to reach the main disaster zone for the first time, Reuters reported.The damage to the G216 national highway had earlier forced authorities to airdrop equipment and supplies to frontline rescuers, while some teams trekked through the mountains to reach the affected area.China’s official death toll from the flooding in Tibet had risen to 21 by Wednesday, with 541 people still missing, according to Reuters.The missing included 104 Nepali citizens, 49 Indians, 33 Latvians and six Canadians, authorities had previously said.Rescue operations have been hampered by persistent rain, unstable cliffs and the fast-flowing river in the narrow mountain gorge, though authorities said the risks from monitored upstream lakes had diminished. Landslides, however, remained a concern.
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