At least 126 killed in 7.1-magnitude Tibet earthquake as tremors felt across multiple countries
Tremors felt in northern India, Bangladesh, and Bhutan
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Your support makes all the difference.A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the foothills of the Himalayas near one of Tibet’s holiest cities on Tuesday, killing at least 126 people and flattening hundreds of houses and causing tremors felt in Nepal, Bhutan and India.
Many others were injured and trapped as dozens of aftershocks shook the remote region. Rescue workers climbed mounds of broken bricks, some using ladders in heavily damaged villages, as they searched for survivors. Videos posted by China’s ministry of emergency management showed two people being carried on stretchers by workers treading over the debris from collapsed homes.
The earthquake, which struck at 9.05am local time, was centred in Tibet’s Tingri County – known as the northern gateway to the Everest region – at a depth of about 10km, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported.
Chinese president Xi Jinping said all-out search and rescue efforts should be carried out to minimise casualties, properly resettle the affected people, and ensure a safe and warm winter.
The impact of the powerful earthquake was felt across the Shigatse region of Tibet, one of the holiest sites in Buddhism which is home to 800,000 people. The region is administered by Shigatse city, the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism.
Many homes in Shigatse city were reduced to rubble, a video released by Tibet Fire and Rescue showed.
Other videos showed crumbled shops in the nearby town of Lhatse, with debris spilling out onto the road.
Mount Everest sightseeing tours in Tingri, where foreign climbers come to prepare for their ascent, were cancelled for Tuesday morning, according to a tourism staff member who spoke to local media. They also confirmed that the sightseeing area had been completely closed.
About 150 aftershocks were recorded in nine hours after the earthquake.
More than 1,500 firefighters and rescue workers have been dispatched to the affected areas, China’s Xinhua news agency said. In the worst-hit Tingri County, where the temperature was expected to drop to -18C by the evening, rescuers raced to find survivors.
Some 22,000 items, including tents, coats, quilts and folding beds have also been sent, Xinhua said.
Tibet is part of China, but many Tibetans’ loyalties lie with the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader who has lived in exile in India since a failed anti-Chinese uprising in 1959. Western governments and human rights organisations have repeatedly accused the Chinese government of abuses in Tibet, where it has cracked down on dissent while investing heavily in economic development.
The Dalai Lama said he was deeply saddened. “I offer my prayers for those who have lost their lives and extend my wishes for a swift recovery to all who have been injured,” the Nobel peace laureate said in a message.
The quake woke residents in Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu, about 140 miles from the epicentre, and sent them running into the streets. On the southwest edge of Kathmandu, a video showed water spilling out into the street from a pond in a courtyard with a small temple. “It is a big earthquake,” a woman could be heard saying. “People are all shaking.”
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said the tremors were felt in seven hill districts bordering Tibet.
“So far we have not received any information of any loss of life and property,” NDRRMA spokesperson Dizan Bhattarai told Reuters. “We have mobilised police, security forces and local authorities to collect information,” he said.
The epicentre was located where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates clashed and caused uplifts in the Himalayan mountains strong enough to change the heights of some of the world’s tallest peaks.
About 6,900 people live in three townships and 27 villages within 12 miles of the epicentre on the Chinese side, state media said. The average altitude in the area is about 4,200 metres (13,800ft), the Chinese earthquake centre said in a social media post.
There have been 10 earthquakes of at least magnitude-6 in the area where Tuesday’s quake hit over the past century, the USGS said.
In November 2023, a magnitude-5.6 earthquake shook northwestern Nepal, killing at least 138 people and injuring dozens.
In 2015, a magnitude-7.8 quake struck near Kathmandu in Nepal, killing about 9,000 people and injuring thousands in that country’s worst earthquake
A huge quake in Sichuan province in southwestern China in 2008 killed almost 70,000 people.
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