At least 53 people have been killed after a powerful earthquake struck a remote region of Tibet on Tuesday morning, according to Chinese state media, with tremors felt in neighboring Nepal and parts of northern India.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the 7.1-magnitude quake struck at 9:05 a.m. local time and was followed by multiple aftershocks.
Both the USGS and the China Earthquake Networks Center said the epicenter was high up in the remote Tibetan plateau close to the Himalayan border with Nepal, around 50 miles north of Mount Everest.
Another 62 people were injured in the quake, while more than 1,000 houses were damaged in Tingri county, where the epicenter is located, state news agency Xinhua reported.
The tremors were felt as far as Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital. “It was very strong. People came running out of their houses. You could see the wires from poles shaken loose,” said Bishal Nath Upreti from the Nepal Centre for Disaster Management, a non-government organization in Kathmandu.
Chinese social media videos geolocated by CNN showed damaged roofs, shop fronts and debris piling on the streets of Lhatse county, some 86 kilometers (53 miles) from the epicenter. Some cars and motorcycles parked along the road were also damaged, the footage showed.
(CNN)
