Powerful Tibet earthquake, near Nepal, kills at least 53

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the northern Himalayan foothills close to a sacred Tibetan city on Tuesday, according to Chinese officials, resulting in at least 53 fatalities and rattling structures in nearby Nepal, Bhutan, and India.

The tremor struck at 9:05 a.m. (0105 GMT), the epicentre was situated in Tingri, a rural county in China recognized as the northern gateway to the Everest area, at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), as reported by the China Earthquake Networks Centre. The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake’s magnitude as 7.1. According to China’s state-controlled news agency Xinhua, at least 53 fatalities and 62 injuries occurred on the Tibetan side.

The southwestern regions of China, Nepal, and northern India often experience earthquakes due to the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

In 2015, a 7.8 magnitude quake hit near Kathmandu, resulting in nearly 9,000 fatalities and injuring thousands, marking Nepal’s deadliest earthquake. At least 18 individuals were among those who lost their lives at the Mount Everest base camp due to an avalanche that struck. The epicenter on Tuesday was approximately 80 km (50 miles) north of Mount Everest, which is the tallest mountain in the world and a favored spot for climbers and trekkers.

Winter is generally not favored by climbers and hikers in Nepal, with only one mountaineer, a German, holding a permit to ascend Mount Everest. According to Lilathar Awasthi, a Department of Tourism official, he had departed from the base camp after not achieving the summit. Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) reported that the shakes were experienced in seven hilly districts adjacent to Tibet.

“As of now, we have not obtained any details regarding the loss of life or property,” said NDRRMA spokesman Dizan Bhattarai to Reuters. “We have deployed police, security personnel, and local officials to gather information,” he stated. Numerous sparsely populated villages in the border region of Nepal are isolated and accessible only on foot. The effects of the quake were experienced throughout the Shigatse area of Tibet, which is inhabited by 800,000 residents. Shigatse city governs the region, serving as the historical seat of the Panchen Lama, a key figure in Tibetan Buddhism.

Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that extensive search and rescue operations must be executed to reduce casualties and effectively relocate the impacted individuals. There are three townships and 27 villages situated within 20 km (12 miles) of the epicentre, housing a total population of approximately 6,900, according to Xinhua. Local government representatives were coordinating with neighboring towns to assess the earthquake’s effects and verify any casualties, it noted.  Tremors were detected in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, located about 400 km (250 miles) away, prompting residents to flee their homes. Tingri villages experienced intense shaking during the earthquake, which was succeeded by numerous aftershocks reaching magnitudes of 4.4.