A powerful earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale centered about 50 miles from the Mount Everest left at least 95 dead in Tibet on Tuesday, reports said.
Another 130 people were injured on Chinese side of the border, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing Deputy Mayor Shigatse.
Rescuers have been climbing piles of broken bricks, some using ladders in hard-hit villages, as the search for survivors continues. More than 1,000 homes are believed to have been damaged in the region.
Video footage released by China’s Ministry of Emergency Management shows two people being carried by stretcher workers across the uneven rubble of collapsed houses.
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People stand among damaged houses after an earthquake in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Xinhua/AP)
The morning quake also woke residents of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu – about 140 miles from the epicenter – and sent them running from their homes into the streets.
The US Geological Survey said earthquake measured magnitude 7.1 and was relatively shallow at a depth of about six miles.
Rescue teams search the ruins after an earthquake in the city of Shigatse, Tibet, on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. (Tibetan Fire and Rescue Service/Reuters)
About 50 aftershocks were reported in the three hours after the quake, and the Mount Everest Scenic Area on the Chinese side was closed, according to The Associated Press.
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People in Kathmandu, Nepal, rushed from their homes on Tuesday after the earthquake. (AP/Sunil Sharma)
The news agency quoted CCTV as saying that more than 3,000 rescuers had been deployed to the region to help with post-disaster relief.
About 7,000 people live in three municipalities and 27 villages within 12.5 miles of the epicenter on the Chinese side, state media added. The average elevation in the area is about 13,800 feet, the China Earthquake Center said in a social media post.
On the southwestern edge of Kathmandu, video viewed by the AP showed water pouring into a street from a lake in a courtyard with a small temple.
Rescuers search for survivors after an earthquake hit Changsuo Municipality in southwest China, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Xinhua/AP)
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“This is a big earthquake,” a woman is heard saying. – People are all shaking.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
