Police clear rubble by hand to rescue quake survivors in Xizang

Police officers and auxiliary personnel dug through rubble with their bare hands to rescue trapped residents in Drachen county, Xizang autonomous region, after a magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck at 10:33 pm on Thursday.

A 45-member team from the county public security bureau set out at about 11 pm and traveled 85 kilometers, reaching the severely hit villages in Maru township at 12:30 am on Friday.

"The only thing on our minds was getting the trapped residents out as quickly as possible," said Tsering Dawa, an officer with the county public security bureau.

With temperatures dropping to minus 6 C and aftershocks continuing, 10 officers cleared fallen rocks from roads while the remaining 35 personnel searched for survivors in groups of three. They used drones to assess the damage, coordinated with village officials to check residents' whereabouts, and searched homes one by one.

Before heavy machinery arrived, the rescuers used wooden poles to support unstable structures and squeezed through twisted door and window frames to reach trapped residents. They searched more than 200 households and helped transport injured people to hospital.

After daybreak, the team directed traffic, transported supplies and set up more than 30 tents to shelter residents.