(Adnkronos) – Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella on Tuesday sent condolences to China’s president Xi Jinping for magnitude 7.1 earthquake that killed scores of people and damaged over 1,000 buildings in a remote region of Tibet, near Everest.
“Having learned the sad news of the earthquake that struck the Tibet Autonomous Region, causing numerous deaths and injuries, as well as extensive damage in several counties, I would like to extend to you, Mr President, the most sincere condolences of the Italian people and to express my personal condolences,” Mattarella wrote in a message.
“Italy empathises with the mourning of the friendly Chinese people and, in particular, the grief of the families of those who lost their lives,” the statement went on.
“We wish the injured a speedy and complete recovery,” added the statement. It also praised the large-scale rescue operation launched by China’s authorities in the quake zone, where survivors face below zero temperatures predicted to fall to as low as -16C overnight.
Earthquakes are common in the region, which lies on a major geological fault line, but Tuesday’s was one of China’s deadliest in recent years.
