HONG KONG -- John Lee, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), has pledged aid to disaster relief work after a deadly earthquake jolted Southwest China's Xizang autonomous region on Tuesday morning.

Lee mourned the deceased and expressed sympathies to the injured via social media.

He said that he had instructed local authorities to closely follow the development of the relief efforts, adding that the HKSAR government stands ready to provide aid through its disaster relief fund.

By 7 pm Tuesday, a total of 126 people had been confirmed dead and 188 others injured from the 6.8-magnitude quake, which also toppled thousands of rural houses on the northern slope of the Himalayas.