Beijing/Kathmandu, Jan. 7, ’25 (Reuters/TNZ) A magnitude 6.8 earthquake, rocked the northern foothills of the Himalayas near one of Tibet’s holiest cities on Tuesday.
Chinese Authorities said the earthquake killed at least 95 people and shook buildings in neighbouring Nepal, Bhutan and India.
The quake hit at 9.05 a.m. (0105 GMT), with its epicentre located in Tingri, a rural county known as the northern gateway to the Everest region.
It is at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), according to the China Earthquake Networks Centre. The U.S. Geological Service put the quake’s magnitude at 7.1.
At least 95 people died and 130 others injured on the Tibetan side, China’s state-run television reported six hours later.
There were no reports of deaths elsewhere.
Earthquakes frequently hit Southwestern parts of China, Nepal and northern India. The collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates caused the earthquake.
Tuesday’s epicentre was around 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain and a popular destination for climbers and trekkers.
Winter is not a popular season for climbers and hikers in Nepal, with a German climber the lone mountaineer with a permit to climb Mount Everest.
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He had already left the base camp after failing to reach the summit, Lilathar Awasthi, a Department of Tourism official, said.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said people felt the tremours in seven hill districts bordering Tibet.
“So far, we have not received any information of any loss of life and property,’’ NDRRMA spokesman Dizan Bhattarai told Reuters.
“We have mobilised police, security forces and local authorities to collect information,’’ he said.
Many villages in the Nepalese border area, which have sparse populations, are remote and only accessible on foot.
Residents felt the impact of the quake across the Shigatse region of Tibet, home to 800,000 people.
Shigatse City administers the region, the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered an all-out search and rescue efforts to minimise casualties, properly resettle the affected people and ensure a safe and warm winter.
More than 1,500 local firefighters and rescue workers have been dispatched to the affected areas, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.
Some 22,000 items including cotton tents, cotton coats, quilts and folding beds have also been sent to the quake-hit region, it said. (Reuters)
