Quake in China’s Tibet kills 53, tremors felt in Nepal, India
A powerful earthquake in China’s remote Tibet region killed at least 53 people and collapsed “many buildings” on Tuesday, state media reported, with tremors also felt in neighbouring Nepal’s capital Kathmandu and parts of India.
Videos published by China’s state broadcaster CCTV showed destroyed houses with walls torn apart and rubble strewn across the ruins in the aftermath of the earthquake.
The quake struck Dingri County with a magnitude of 6.8 near the border with Nepal at 9:05 am (0105 GMT), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC). The US Geological Survey reported the tremor as magnitude 7.1.
“Thirty-two people have been confirmed dead and 38 injured during the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that jolted Dingri County in the city of Xigaze in Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region at 9:05 am Tuesday,” Xinhua news agency said, citing the regional disaster relief headquarters.
“Dingri county and its surrounding areas experienced very strong tremors, and many buildings near the epicentre have collapsed,” state broadcaster CCTV said earlier.
Xinhua said, “Local authorities are reaching out to various townships in the county to assess the impact of the quake”.
Temperatures in Dingri are around minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 degrees Fahrenheit) and will drop to minus 18 this evening, according to the China Meteorological Administration.
The high-altitude county in the Tibet region is home to around 62,000 people and situated on the Chinese side of Mount Everest.
While earthquakes are common in the region, Tuesday’s quake was the most powerful recorded within a 200-kilometre radius in the last five years, the CENC added.
As well as Kathmandu, areas around Lobuche in Nepal in the high mountains near Everest were also rattled by the tremors and aftershocks.
