At least 53 people lost their lives and 62 were injured after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake registered this Tuesday in the Tingri county of the western Chinese region of Tibet that was also noted in Nepal and India, the official Xinhua agency reported. .
The earthquake occurred at 09:05 local time (01:05 GMT) in Tingri county of Shigatse prefecture at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the China Earthquake Network Center.
In the aforementioned county of Tingri, the most affected, more than 1,000 homes collapsed, according to the Nanfang Daily newspaper.
According to Xinhua, about 6,900 people reside within a 20-kilometer radius around the epicenter.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “comprehensive efforts to save lives and minimize the number of victims,” while calling for work to “prevent secondary disasters” and “properly resettle affected residents.”
The Chinese leader also emphasized the urgency of “repairing damaged infrastructure” and “ensuring that the basic needs of residents are met,” the agency said.
After the earthquake, the Anti-Seismic and Disaster Relief Command Office of the State Council (Chinese Executive) and the Ministry of Emergency Management launched an emergency operation and sent a working group to the earthquake area to guide anti-seismic and relief efforts.
According to the state broadcaster CCTV, local firefighting teams have mobilized more than 1,500 personnel for search and rescue tasks for survivors.
Tingri County, which has a population density of 4.2 people per square kilometer, is located at the foot of the Himalayas and has an average altitude of 5,000 meters above sea level, according to official information from the local government.
According to weather forecasts, temperatures in the county are expected to reach a minimum of 16 degrees below zero and a maximum of 3 degrees this Tuesday.
The epicenter was located about 85 kilometers from Mount Everest, located right on the border between China and Nepal, which has been closed to the public until further notice to ensure the safety of visitors and staff.
The tremor was felt in areas of Nepal and in several states in northern India, media from both countries reported, although no deaths or damage have yet been reported in either nation.
Tibet and other areas of western China are frequent sites of earthquakes, due to the proximity of the friction point of the Asian tectonic plate with the Indian one, but due to the low population density in the area, earthquakes often occur in sparsely inhabited areas.
In December 2023, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake left more than 150 dead in the neighboring Qinghai region and western Gansu province.
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