Tibet earthquake death toll rises to 126

The death toll due to the 6.8 magnitude earthquake near Tibet on Tuesday, mounted to 126, AFP quoted Chinese agency Xinhua.

Nearly 200 people were injured as the quake damaged several houses, littering streets with rubble.

More than 1,000 homes were damaged in the barren and sparsely populated region, AP quoted Chinese broadcaster CCTV. In a video posted by the broadcaster, building debris littered streets and crushed cars.

Rescue workers climbed mounds of broken bricks, some using ladders in heavily damaged villages, as they searched for survivors. According to an AP report, videos posted by China's Ministry of Emergency Management showed two people being carried on stretchers by workers treading over the debris from collapsed homes.

Tibet is a seismically active zone. It logged more than 100 earthquakes of magnitude of at least 3.0 last year. But quakes of magnitude 7.0 and above are rare, with just nine since the turn of the 20th century, Reuters reported.

Some 22,000 disaster relief items, including cotton tents, cotton coats, quilts and folding beds, together with special relief materials for high-altitude and frigid areas, have been dispatched by central authorities to the quake-hit area, PTI reported. Over 1,500 local firefighters and rescue workers have also been dispatched to the ground._Agencies.