A magnitude-seven earthquake struck northern Tibet late on 22 October, killing at least 16 people and injuring 32, according to Chinese state media cited by ABC News.

Xinhua, quoting Nagqu City’s emergency management bureau, said the earthquake occurred at approximately 10:33pm local time. Eleven injured people were in serious condition early on Friday.

The Nagqu media office reported that at least 339 homes had collapsed. The figures were preliminary and based on official reporting available overnight.

The epicentre was in a sparsely populated county in northern Tibet, approximately 400 kilometres from Lhasa. China’s earthquake monitoring agency placed it at a depth of about 10 kilometres.

The surrounding terrain is exceptionally high, with an average elevation of approximately 4,864 metres within five kilometres of the epicentre.

Reuters reported that fire and rescue teams were mobilising towards the affected area. Smaller tremors followed the main earthquake.

Videos distributed by local official media showed residents moving outside and sheltering in vehicles. Further assessments will be needed to establish the impact across villages near the epicentre.