BEIJING July 3,(Reuter)- A strong earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale jolted central Tibet Wednesday, officials in the Chinese-ruled Himalayan region said.

Officials in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, were struggling to establish the extent of damage caused by the tremor, which rocked Xaitongmoin county in the region's Xigaze (Shigatse) prefecture at 2.44 p.m. (2:44 a.m., EDT), the officials said.

It was still unclear if the earthquake had caused casualties in the remote and sparsely populated region, an official of the Lhasa Seismological Bureau said by telephone.

Tremors measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale are strong enough to cause widespread damage in populated areas.

"We have sent people to the area to investigate the situation," the official said.

"The population there is sparse and most of the people are herders," another Lhasa official said. "The area is so remote it is difficult to get in touch with them and very hard to get news."

Seismological officials had visited the earthquake-prone epicenter north of Xaitongmoin after a tremor that measured 5.2 on the Richter scale in June, he said.

"Hardly anyone lives there," he said. "There will not be any major losses."

An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale rocked a remote area of southwestern China's Yunnan province Tuesday, killing one person and injuring eight.

Officials said early warnings by seismologists had prevented more casualties in scenic Lijiang county, where a tremor last February killed 304 people and injured more than 16,000.

The earthquake opened up cracks in many homes left standing after the February tremor that destroyed 340,000 houses and damaged more than 1.17 million, the official said.

China's seismologists have vowed to repeat in 1996 the 40 percent earthquake prediction rate they achieved last year, as the country experiences a period of high seismic activity.

REUTER