A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck China's Tibet region on Sunday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.

Earthquake of magnitude 5.7 strikes China's Qinghai region. (via Unsplash)

The tremor occurred at a depth of 9 km (5 miles), according to the EMSC.

The region was hit by a magnitude 7 earthquake last week, which killed 16 people, injuring 54 and causing hundreds of homes to collapse in the northern regional city of Nagqu, according to official media reports cited by the news agency AP.

Also read | 16 dead, hundreds of homes collapse after powerful earthquake hits Tibet; rescue ops underway

Search and rescue operations were underway after at least 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds collapsed, the Nagqu media office said, citing city government officials.

According to the US Geological Survey, earthquake struck at 10.33 pm local time, with its epicentre located 191 km (119 miles) east-northeast of Nagqu, in a sparsely populated, high-altitude area of northern Tibet. The agency estimated the quake’s depth at 18 km (11 miles). Nagqu lies more than 300 km (186 miles) north of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.

Also read | Central Tibetan administration calls for free communication after earthquake

The earthquake also triggered rockfalls, prompting local authorities to close a section of National Highway 317. Only emergency, rescue and official support vehicles were allowed to pass as crews worked to clear debris, chinese news agency Xinhua reported, according to AP.