Magnitude 6.9 earthquake strikes Tibetan plateau

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the area, in the mountains that divide Qinghai province from the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The quake was centred 150 miles (240 km) north northwest of Qamdo in Tibet and 235 miles (380 km) south southeast of the mining town of Golmud in Qinghai, and had a depth of 29 miles (47 km), it said.

The foothills to the south and east of the area are home to herders and Tibetan monastaries, while the area to the north and west is arid and desolate.

A magnitude 5.0 quake struck the same region late on Tuesday night.

The plateau is regularly shaken by earthquakes, but casualties are usually minimal because so few people live there. The exception was the magnitude-8 quake that hit the Sichuan foothills in May 2008, killing 80,000 people.

(Writing by Lucy Hornby; Editing by Ken Wills)