(TibetanReview.net, Jun02’21) – At least 20 people have died and more than 300 are injured from the 7.3-magnitude earthquake that jolted Matoe (Chinese: Maduo) County of the traditionally Tibetan-inhabited province of Qinghai Province early May 22, said the Tibetan Service of rfa.org Jun 1, citing a local source.
China’s latest official report is that 19 people had been injured and there were livestock deaths and minor property damage, but no deaths of people. It also said over 32,000 local residents were affected by the tremor.
“At least 20 persons were killed, and more than 300 others were injured, though, with 13 reported missing,” the rfa.org report cited a source in the region as saying.
It is not as if the Chinese government does not know about the deaths. The rfa.org report cited its source as saying local authorities had promised a compensation of 50,000 yuan (US $7,840) to the families of the deceased.
The report also cited the source as saying Tibetan residents of Matoe, a county in Qinghai’s Golog (Guoluo) Prefecture, had been barred from posting reports online concerning deaths or damage from the May 22 earthquake.
“Any information about deaths or injuries occurring in the jolt must be reported to Chinese authorities rather than being shared online,” the report quoted the source as saying.
The Matoe earthquake followed a 6.4 magnitude quake earlier in day in Yangbi Yi Autonomous County of neighbouring Yunnan province that left at least three dead and 32 injured, the report noted, citing China’s official China Daily newspaper May 24.
