BEIJING, October 7 (RIA Novosti) - Schools in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa did not open on Tuesday morning due to safety concerns after an earthquake hit the region late on Monday, the Xinhua news agency said.
"The decision was made overnight by Tibet's regional government," the agency said.
A 6.6-magnitude quake, with its epicenter in the village of Yangyi - some 80 km (50 miles) west of Lhasa - killed nine people, Xinhua said, revising an estimated death toll of at least 30.
Nineteen people were also injured, 11 of them seriously.
The tremor was felt in Lhasa, but no damage or injuries have been reported.
Over 600 soldiers, police officers, firefighters, and other personnel are currently working in the disaster area.
The regional earthquake bureau said a total of 188 aftershocks, including one with a magnitude of over 6 on the Richter scale, had been registered in the quake zone by Tuesday morning.
