No casualties reported from Tibet earthquakes

LHASA - There have been no casualties reported following three earthquakes including a 5.0-magnitude earthquake in a county in Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region on Tuesday morning.

The 5.0-magnitude earthquake, with the epicenter monitored at 32.84 degrees north latitude and 85.52 degrees east longitude, jolted Gerze County in Ali Prefecture at 2:12 am Tuesday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

Later on, the county was struck again by a 3.7-magnitude quake and a 3.4-magnitude one.

Sonam Daje, deputy head of the county's civil affairs bureau, said a preliminary investigation found no casualties, and no houses collapsed as of 10 am Tuesday.

"The epicenter is around a village in Gerze. Most people were asleep when the earthquakes occurred, and tremors were not strongly felt by the residents in the county seat," said Hu Haibo, director of the county's poverty relief office.

Gerze is the largest county featuring animal husbandry industry in Ali, with an average altitude of over 4,500 meters.