Mobile communication signals in the most severely affected townships of Tsogo, Drams, and Chulho of Dingri county have all been restored as of Tuesday night following the earthquake earlier in the day, said the regional service provider.

Because of the 6.8-magnitude tremor that hit Dingri county in the Xizang autonomous region at 9:05 am on Tuesday, 177 local base stations of telecoms company China Mobile went out of service, said the China Mobile Communications Group Xizang Co., Ltd. After 9 hours of effort, as of 6:08 pm, the company said all mobile communication signals have been restored. 

Along with the return of telecommunication services, Dingri county has seen some affected roads return to use. 

As of around 7:18 pm, in Dingri county, there were five sections of national and provincial highways affected by the earthquake, including areas that had suffered landslides, subsidence and roadbed collapse. Through emergency rescue efforts, single-lane traffic has been restored, reported China Transport News.

In addition, as of 7:30 pm, Xizang Airlines has operated four flights for rescue support, departing from various locations including Beijing, Chengdu of Sichuan province, and Xining of Qinghai province.

These flights have carried 72 rescue personnel to the disaster area as well as some supplies, to support earthquake relief efforts.

palden_nyima@chinadaily.com.cn