Schools closed for safety after Tibet quake

BEIJING (Reuters) - China closed schools in Tibet's capital for safety reasons on Tuesday, the day after a huge earthquake killed at least nine and a teenager died in a crush of evacuating high school students.

Most victims of the 6.6 magnitude Tibet earthquake were women, children and the elderly, because it struck in the afternoon when men were out cutting and storing hay, the official Xinhua agency said quoting a farmer from the worst-hit village.

But a stampede at a school in Nagarze County, as teachers hurried students out during the quake, also injured 15 and killed one student, regional official Gong Puguang was quoted saying.

The epicentre was 80 km (50 miles) west of the regional capital Lhasa. Although there were no reports of significant damage there, all schools were closed on Tuesday because of safety concerns, Xinhua said.

Regional earthquake monitors had logged 1,211 aftershocks by Tuesday morning, including one above 6.0 magnitude, Xinhua said.

The tremors came less than six months after a devastating quake in Sichuan, when hundreds of classrooms were flattened and thousands of students died, sometimes while neighbouring buildings stood firm. Parents there blamed shoddy construction and cheap materials for some of the collapses.

In Tibet the other deaths were all in Yangyi village, where 18 people were injured and nearly 200 homes destroyed. State media revised down an earlier estimated death toll of at least 30.

Getting tents to the area is a priority as winter sets in, and emergency food supplies are also being rushed to families.