More than 120 people have died after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Himalayas on Tuesday morning, while more than 200 people have been injured in the natural disaster.
Local Chinese media reported at least 126 deaths in and around the Tibetan city of Shigatse, while tremors were felt in neighboring Nepal and India.
“A reporter from the Tibet Autonomous Region Earthquake Bureau learned that people have been killed,” Xinhua state news agency said, listing Changsuo, Qiluo and Kuoguo townships in Dingri county.
“A total of 95 people are confirmed dead and 130 others are injured,” the agency later said.
China’s state-run Xinhua news agency said the death toll later rose to at least 126, with 188 injured, although the death toll could rise further as some of the injured were in critical condition and others were missing. . ,
Where was the epicenter of the Tibet earthquake?
The earthquake occurred at 9:05 a.m. local time (0105 UTC/GMT) and its epicenter was at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 mi). Xinhua downgraded the intensity from an earlier estimate of 6.9.
The US Geological Survey reported the earthquake’s magnitude as 7.1.
The epicenter of the earthquake was about 75 kilometers northeast of Mount Everest, which straddles the China-Nepal border.
tremors reported
By 10 a.m., “several aftershocks” had been recorded, the Xinhua reporter said, with a magnitude of 4.4.
“Very strong tremors struck Dingri County and surrounding areas, and many buildings near the epicenter collapsed,” state broadcaster CCTV said.
The Ministry of Emergency Management said about 1,500 emergency workers were already on the ground searching for victims and survivors in the debris.
Video footage seen by Reuters news agency showed damaged buildings and collapsed shops in the major cities of Xigaze and Lhatse, with debris littering the streets.
A sacred city, Xigaze is home to the Panchen Lama, one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism, whose spiritual authority is second only to the Dalai Lama.
Earthquake tremors felt in Nepal and India
The quake was felt about 400 kilometers (250 miles) away in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, where residents ran out of their homes.
“We felt a very strong earthquake but so far we have not received any reports of injuries or physical damage,” said Anoj Raj Ghimire, chief district officer of Solukhumbu district in Nepal.
“We have deployed police and other security forces as well as local people to collect information about the damage,” he said.
Tremors were also felt in the northern Indian state of Bihar, but officials reported no signs of damage.
Why is this area sensitive to earthquakes?
The region is seismically active and is where the India and Eurasia plates collide, causing uplift in the Himalayan Mountains that can alter or even create some of the world’s highest peaks.
While earthquakes are common in the mountainous region, Tuesday’s quake was the most powerful earthquake recorded within a 200-kilometre radius in the past five years, according to the China Earthquake Network Center (CENC).
In 2015, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed nearly 9,000 people in Nepal.
jsi, mf/zc, kb (AFP, Reuters, AP)
