At least 126 people have been killed and more than 188 others wounded in a major earthquake in Tibet.
The 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck a mountainous area in the region of Tibet, near the border with Nepal, at a depth of about six miles, according to the US Geological Survey.
Its epicentre was around 50 miles northeast of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, which straddles the border.
Tremors were felt in neighbouring Nepal, Bhutan and India, leaving entire buildings shaking.
The death toll was initially reported to be 53, but the number has almost doubled in the last hour, suggesting that more victims will be discovered as search an rescue continues.
CCTV footage showed rescue workers climbing piles and piles of debris blocking homes in a heavily damaged village.
Chunks that had been knocked off buildings littered streets and crushed cars in other areas.
State media reported that about 1,000 houses were damaged in the disaster.
Southwestern parts of China, Nepal and northern India are frequently hit by earthquakes caused by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.
A magnitude 7.8 tremor struck near Kathmandu in 2015, killing 9,000 people and injuring thousands more in Nepal’s worst ever earthquake.
Included among the dead were at least 18 people killed at the Mount Everest base camp when it was smashed by an avalanche.
The impact of the temblor was felt across the Shigatse region of Tibet, home to 800,000 people.
The region is administered by Shigatse city, the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism.
It was illegally annexed by China in the 1950s and remains under occupation to this day.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said all-out search and rescue efforts should be carried out to minimise casualties, properly resettle the affected people, and ensure a safe and warm winter.
Villages in Tingri reported strong shaking during the quake, which was followed by dozens of aftershocks with magnitudes of up to 4.4.
Crumbled shop fronts could be seen in a video on social media showing the aftermath from the town of Lhatse, with debris spilling out onto the road.
There are three townships and 27 villages within (12 miles of the epicentre, with a total population of around 6,900, Xinhua reported.
Local government officials were liaising with nearby towns to gauge the impact of the quake and check for casualties, it added.
Tremors were also felt in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu some 250 miles away, where residents ran from their houses.
Earthquakes in China happen most frequently on the Tibetan Plateau or its fringes.
The seismically active area is where the India and Eurasia plates clash and cause uplifts that can be strong enough to change the heights of Himalayan peaks.
In May 2008, a 7.9 earthquake in Sichuan province in the southwest killed nearly 90,000 people.
The collapse of schools and other buildings led to a yearslong effort to rebuild using more quake-resistant materials.
Other deadly earthquakes have struck in Yunnan province to the south of Sichuan and in Qinghai and Gansu provinces.
Here’s a list of major recent earthquakes:
— May 2008: A magnitude 7.9 earthquake leaves nearly 90,000 people dead or missing and presumed dead in Sichuan province.
— April 2010: A magnitude 7.1 earthquake kills 2,698 people in Qinghai province.
— April 2013: A magnitude 7.0 earthquake kills 196 people in Sichuan.
— July 2013: A magnitude 6.6 earthquake kills 95 people in Gansu province.
— August 2014: A magnitude 6.1 earthquake kills 617 people in Yunnan province.
— September 2022: A magnitude 6.8 earthquake kills 93 people in Sichuan.
— December 2023: A magnitude 6.2 earthquake kills at least 126 people in Gansu and Qinghai provinces.
The quake also jolted Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, and the northern Indian state of Bihar which borders Nepal.
So far, no reports of any damage or loss to property have been received, officials in India said.
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