1st LD-Writethru-China Focus: Xizang quake kills 126, all-out rescue effort underway

LHASA, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- A total of 126 people have been confirmed dead and 188 others injured after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region on Tuesday morning, toppling thousands of rural houses on the northern slope of the Himalayas.

The earthquake struck at 9:05 a.m. (Beijing Time), with the epicenter located in Tsogo Township, Dingri County, in the city of Xigaze. There