Earthquake claims 53 lives in China’s Tibet region

A ravaging earthquake in China’s remote Tibet region has killed no fewer than 53 people and collapsed “many buildings” on Tuesday.

Chinese state media had reported that tremors were also felt in neighbouring Nepal’s capital Kathmandu and parts of India.

Videos published by China’s state broadcaster, CCTV, showed houses destroyed with walls torn apart.

Rescue workers waded through rubble strewn across the ruins in the aftermath of the earthquake, footage showed, while some gave locals thick blankets to keep warm.

Surveillance images published by CCTV showed people running through a store’s aisles as shelves shook violently, sending objects like toys tumbling to the ground.

The powerful 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.

“Fifty-three people have been confirmed dead and 62 injured as of Tuesday noon, after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Dingri County in the city of Xigaze in Xizang Autonomous Region at 9:05 am Tuesday,” Xinhua news agency had said.

“Dingri county and its surrounding areas experienced very strong tremors, and many buildings near the epicentre have collapsed,” CCTV said.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday emphasised “the full-scale search and rescue efforts, minimizing casualties to the greatest extent possible, properly resettling affected residents, and ensuring their safety and warmth through the winter,” CCTV added.

Xinhua said that “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.

Disaster relief aid, including cotton tents, quilts and items for high-altitude and frigid areas, had been dispatched by central authorities to areas impacted by the quake, Xinhua news agency said.

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 tremor and aftershocks.

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