A powerful earthquake shook the highlands of western China and parts of Nepal on Tuesday, destroying hundreds of homes, littering roads and killing at least 95 people in Tibet. Many others were trapped as a series of aftershocks shook the remote area.
Rescuers climbed over mounds of broken bricks, some using ladders in heavily damaged villages, as they searched for survivors. Videos posted by China's Ministry of Emergency Management showed two people being strangled by workers stepping over uneven debris from collapsed houses.
At least 130 people were injured in the earthquake-hit area of Tibet on the Chinese side of the border, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing the deputy mayor of Shigatse.
More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed in this desert and relatively sparsely populated area, CCTV said. In the video posted by the broadcaster, the rubble of the collapsed building littered the streets and crushed cars.
People in northeastern Nepal felt the tremors, but there were no initial reports of injuries or damage, according to the country's National Emergency Operation Center. The area around Mount Everest, about 75 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of the disaster, was deserted in winter when even some residents went south to escape the cold.
The early morning tremors woke residents in Nepal's capital Kathmandu – about 230 kilometers (140 miles) from the epicenter – and sent them out of their homes and onto the streets.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescuers search for survivors after the earthquake in Changsuo Township of Dingri in Xigaze, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Tuesday.
Xinhua via AP
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake measured 7.1 magnitude and was very shallow at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles). China's Earthquake Networks agency recorded the magnitude as 6.8. Shallow earthquakes usually cause significant damage.
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The Tibetan base of Tingri, in a seismically active zone where the Indian and Eurasian plates collide and can cause earthquakes powerful enough to change the height of some of the world's tallest peaks in the Himalayas.
Tibet is part of China, but the loyalty of the Tibetan people may be to the Dalai Lama, a spiritual leader who has been in exile in India since a failed uprising against the Chinese in 1959.
Western governments and human rights groups have repeatedly accused the Chinese government of abuses in Tibet, where it has eased tensions while investing heavily in economic development.
There have been 10 earthquakes of at least magnitude 6 in the area where Tuesday's quake struck in the past 100 years, the USGS said.
About 50 aftershocks were recorded in the three hours after the earthquake, and the Mount Everest viewpoint on the Chinese side was closed.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping. he called for all efforts to rescue people, reduce casualties and resettle those whose homes were destroyed. More than 3,000 rescuers have been deployed, CCTV said.
Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing was sent to the area to oversee the work, and the government announced an allocation of 100 million yuan ($13.6 million) for disaster relief.
About 6,900 people live in three townships and 27 villages in an area about 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from where the incident started on the Chinese side, state media said. The average elevation of the area is 4,200 meters (13,800 feet), the China Earthquake Center said in a social media post.
On the southwestern outskirts of Kathmandu, video shows water spilling onto the road from a pond in the courtyard of a small temple.
“It's a big earthquake,” a woman was heard saying. “Everybody is shaking.”
Associated Press writer Binaj Gurubacharya in Kathmandu, Nepal, and researcher Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
