A powerful earthquake has killed at least 95 people and has injured at least 130 in mountainous Tibet Tuesday, with many remaining trapped as dozens of aftershocks continued to shake the region, Chinese state media reported.
The earthquake, one of the deadliest to ever hit China, hit Tibet’s holy city of Shigatse around 09:00 local time. According to the U.S. Geological Survey it had a magnitude of 7.1. About 50 aftershocks have been recorded in the first three hours following the quake, which was felt to parts of India neighboring Nepal, where in capital Kathmandu, residents awoke from the tremor and run out to the streets.
One of the deadliest earthquakes China has ever seen
Videos aired by CCTV, China’s state broadcaster, showed destroyed houses and collapsed buildings as rescue workers rushed amid the debris while handing out blankets to locals. Temperatures near the quake’s epicenter are at around -8C (17.6F).
In other videos, orange-suited rescue workers were climbing piles of debris in a heavily damaged village as streets were filled with parts that had been knocked off building and crushed cars in other areas. At least 1,000 homes have been damaged.
There are power and water outages in the area while a massive search and rescue operation has been under way. About 1,500 fire and rescue workers have been deployed, the Ministry of Emergency Management said. Two hundred soldiers have also joined the search, according to CCTV.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for all-out efforts to rescue people, minimize casualties and resettle those whose homes have been destroyed or damaged. Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing was dispatched to the area to oversee the operations.
Tibet mountainous region is vulnerable to earthquakes
The epicenter of Tuesdays’ earthquake was 75 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Mount Everest, the world’s tallest mountain. Earthquakes are common in the area, where there is strong seismic activity. The India and Eurasia plaques clash and cause uplifts in the Himalayan mountains that are so strong, that they can change the heights of some of the world’s tallest peaks.
The average altitude in the area around the epicenter is about 4,200 meters (13,800 feet), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.
A police officer in the area where Mount Everest is located said that there were no reports of damage. The area is often crowded with hikers and climbers but remains largely empty during the harsh winter.
According to the U.S Geological Survey, there have been ten earthquakes of at least magnitude six in the area where Tuesday’s earthquake hit over the past century.