Powerful earthquake hits remote region of Tibet and parts of Nepal, killing more than 120

Hong Kong
CNN
—

More than 120 people have been killed after a powerful earthquake struck a remote region of Tibet on Tuesday morning, with tremors felt across the Himalayas in neighboring Nepal, Bhutan and parts of northern India.

The 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck at 9:05 a.m. local time at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) and was followed by several aftershocks, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The energy unleashed by the tectonic movement toppled houses in remote Himalayan villages, shook a nearby Tibetan holy city and rattled visitors to a Mount Everest base camp.

At least 126 people were killed and 188 others were injured in the earthquake, according to state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV). More than 3,600 houses were damaged, it said.

Its epicenter, located in Tingri County high on the Tibetan Plateau, was close to the border with Nepal, about 50 miles north of the world’s highest mountain.

The tremors could be felt as far away as Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital. “It was very strong. People came running out of their houses. You could see the wires from poles being shaken loose,” said Bishal Nath Upreti of the Nepal Center for Disaster Management, a non-governmental organization in Kathmandu.

In Tibet, a massive rescue effort by emergency services and the Chinese military has freed more than 400 people trapped by rubble. More than 30,000 residents have been evacuated as rescuers continue to search for survivors, authorities said.

The region near the epicenter is sparsely populated, but small villages are located in isolated and often inaccessible Himalayan valleys. About 6,900 people are estimated to live in 27 villages within a 20 km (12 miles) radius of the epicenter, according to Xinhua.

Footage on state media showed the wreckage of collapsed houses and crumpled walls scattered across foothill villages, with rescuers digging through rubble with their bare hands to search for survivors.

Chinese social media videos, geolocated by CNN, showed damaged roofs, storefronts and debris piling up on the streets of Lhatse county, about 86 km (53 miles) from the epicenter. Some cars and motorcycles parked along the road were also damaged, the footage showed.

The nearest major city to the epicenter is the holy city of Shigatse, about 180 km (111 miles) away. The city is home to around 800,000 people and the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, the second highest spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism, second only to the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama, who lives in self-imposed exile in India, said he was “deeply saddened” to hear of the earthquake. “I offer my prayers for those who have lost their lives and extend my wishes for a speedy recovery to all who have been injured,” he said.

Surveillance camera footage at a supermarket in Shigatse shared by Xinhua captured the moment the earthquake struck, with customers running outside as goods fell from shaking shelves. There were no immediate reports of extensive damage in the city.

Pu Chi, who lives in Bainang county – about 200 km (125 miles) from the epicenter in Tingri – said she was in bed on Tuesday morning when she felt the room shake and saw the ceiling light begin to sway.

“I was really scared, so I quickly put on some clothes and ran outside, then called my family to tell them,” Pu, 24, told CNN. She said it was the first time she had experienced an earthquake.

China’s meteorological administration has warned local residents to seek shelter from the cold and wind, with temperatures likely to drop below 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 degrees Celsius) at points over the next two days. The Shingatse regional government has sent thousands of tents, beds and coats to the affected area.

In a statement after the earthquake, Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged officials to make an all-out effort to search for and rescue survivors, minimize casualties, properly accommodate affected residents and ensure their safety and warmth in the winter cold.

More than 1,600 soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army and paramilitary police have been deployed to participate in the rescue, along with military drones, helicopters and transport planes.

The State Grid Tibet Electric Power Company has sent a first wave of personnel to affected areas to restore power, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.

The Chinese Red Cross Society has allocated more than 4,600 items of disaster relief, including tents, quilts, thermal jackets and folding beds, to those in need of emergency shelter. The Red Cross has also dispatched rescue teams to the area, CCTV reported.

Everest and Nepal rattled

Anna Guo, an 18-year-old university student traveling with a tour group, was about to leave Shigatse and head southwest to see Mount Everest when the ground began shaking violently on Tuesday morning.

“I was standing in line and we heard something — then we realized it was an earthquake. It got stronger and stronger and the windows started shaking,” she told CNN.

“We have never felt such a strong earthquake before.”

On Tuesday, local authorities closed a base camp for climbing Mount Everest, as well as the surrounding scenic area. Winter is not the peak season for climbing the world’s highest mountain, but some Chinese tourists still visit the scenic area for breathtaking views of the Himalayas.

Ba Luo, an employee at the base camp, said he felt tremors from the earthquake, but there was no damage to the buildings. Nearly 500 tourists visited the camp on Monday and about 30 visitors were at the base when the earthquake struck, he said, adding that all tourists had been evacuated.

In Nepal’s Solukhumbu district, just across the border from the Chinese county at the epicenter, the tremors brought back memories of the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck near Kathmandu in 2015, killing about 9,000 people and injuring thousands.

“The tremors were very strong, everyone is definitely in a panic,” Rupesh Vishwakarmi, a local official in the district, told CNN. At a yak farm near Nepal’s base camp for Mount Everest, “everything is shaking” and employees were “very scared,” he said.

Nepalese police said 13 injured people had been rescued across the country. The country’s interior ministry said 10 houses had been damaged and one completely destroyed.

As of Wednesday night, more than 500 aftershocks had been recorded, 27 of which had a magnitude of 3.0 and above, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

Tibet is one of the most restricted and politically sensitive regions in China, and foreign visitor access remains tightly controlled. Beijing has maintained a tight grip on the region since the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 following a failed rebellion against Chinese rule.

This story has been updated with further developments.