BEIJING: A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the foothills of the Himalayas near one of Tibet's holiest cities on Tuesday, killing at least 95 people and collapsing hundreds of houses, Chinese authorities said. The earthquake's epicentre was about 80 km north of Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain. Tremors also shook buildings in neighbouring Nepal, Bhutan and India.
The China Earthquake Networks Centre located the epicentre at Tingri county, known as the northern gateway to the Everest region, at a depth of 10 km. At least 95 people were known to have been killed and 130 injured on the Tibetan side, China's state-run television reported. There were no reports of deaths elsewhere.
The quake's impact was felt across the Shigatse region of Tibet, home to 800,000 people. The region is administered by Shigatse city. Many homes in Shigatse city were reduced to rubble. Rescue workers searched through the debris of a ruined home and pulled out one injured person.
China closed the Everest region to tourists after the quake, China's Xinhua news agency reported. Chinese President Xi Jinping said all-out search and rescue efforts should be carried out to minimise casualties and to resettle affected people. More than 1,500 firefighters and rescue workers have been despatched to the affected areas, Xinhua said. Some 22,000 items including tents, coats, quilts and folding beds have also been sent, it said.
Villages in Tingri, where the average elevation is around 4,000-5,000 metres, reported strong shaking during the quake, which was followed more than 150 aftershocks with magnitudes of up to 4.4. Crumbled shop fronts could be seen in a video on social media showing the aftermath in the town of Lhatse, with debris spilling out onto the road. There are three townships and 27 villages within 20 km of the epicentre, with a total population of around 6,900, and more than 1,000 houses have been damaged.
On Tuesday, tremors were felt in Kathmandu, some 400 km (250 miles) from the epicentre, and residents in the city ran out of their houses. One person was injured in Kathmandu when he jumped off the top of a house after feeling the strong tremors, Nepal Police spokesman Bishwa Adhikari said. The quake also jolted Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, and the northern Indian state of Bihar which borders Nepal. — Reuters
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