Desperate hunt for survivors as huge 7.1-magnitude earthquake leaves at least 53 dead in Tibet with aftershocks rattling region near Mount Everest

A devastating earthquake in China’s remote Tibetan region killed at least 53 people and injured 62, while destroying “many structures.” Tremors were also felt in the neighboring Nepalese capital Kathmandu and parts of India.

Videos published by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV showed homes destroyed and walls torn apart as authorities launched a desperate rescue mission to pull survivors from the rubble in temperatures at least eight degrees below freezing.

Some of the 1,500 rescue workers deployed were seen wading through the ruins in the aftermath of the quake, while others distributed thick blankets and food to keep stunned locals warm.

Surveillance footage published by CCTV showed people running through the aisles of a store as shelves shook violently, causing items such as toys to fall to the floor.

The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Tibet’s Dingri province at 9:05 a.m. local time (01:05 GMT), near the mountainous border with Nepal. Other monitoring organizations estimate the magnitude at 6.8.

The high-altitude province in the Tibet region is home to about 62,000 people and is located on the Chinese side of Mount Everest.

Data from the USGC showed that Everest, the world’s highest mountain, has itself experienced magnitude 4.5 quakes, raising fears that an adventurer with a permit to climb could face disaster.

There are also villages and houses in hard-to-reach areas of the Himalayas, closer to the epicenter, that are feared destroyed, while the Nepalese city of Kathmandu also experienced significant tremors.

The death toll is expected to rise sharply in the coming hours.

Although earthquakes are common in the region, today’s earthquake was the most powerful recorded within 200 kilometers in the past five years.

Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a statement in the hours after the earthquake saying that authorities had launched “large-scale search and rescue efforts” and stressed the importance of “minimizing the number of casualties, keeping affected residents safe at the properly resettle and ensure their safety and security’. warmth through the winter’.

Xinhua news agency said that “local authorities are contacting several townships in the province to assess the impact of the earthquake.”

According to the China Meteorological Administration, temperatures in Dingri are around minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 degrees Fahrenheit) and will drop to minus 18 degrees tonight.

Disaster aid, including cotton tents, quilts and items for high altitude and icy areas, had been sent by central authorities to the earthquake-hit areas, Xinhua said.

The USGC said of the affected region: ‘Generally, the population in this region lives in structures that are highly vulnerable to earthquakes, although some resistant structures exist.

‘The most vulnerable building types are mud blocks and unreinforced brick with mud construction.’

Tremors were felt in Kathmandu and areas around Lobuche in Nepal residents run out of their homes.

“The bed was shaking and I thought my child was moving the bed… I didn’t pay much attention to it, but the shaking of (a) window made me understand that it was an earthquake,” Kathmandu resident Meera Adhikarii said.

“I’m still shaking with fear and in shock.”

One person was injured in Kathmandu when he jumped from the top of a house after feeling strong tremors, Nepal Police spokesman Bishwa Adhikari said. The man was treated in hospital.

“It was shaking quite heavily here, everyone is awake,” said government official Jagat Prasad Bhusal in Nepal’s Namche region, which is closer to Everest.

The earthquake also shook Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, and the northern Indian state of Bihar, which borders Nepal.

But no damage or deaths have been reported so far and security forces have been deployed, Nepal’s interior minister spokesman Rishi Ram Tiwari said.

Nepal lies on a major geological fault line where the Indian tectonic plate penetrates the Eurasian plate to form the Himalayas, and earthquakes are common.

In 2015, nearly 9,000 people died and more than 22,000 were injured when a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal, destroying more than half a million homes.

That event triggered a massive avalanche from Pumori, a nearby mountain, sending snow toward Everest’s base camp, killing at least 22 people.

At least 61 people were injured. It is still the deadliest disaster on the mountain.

Three people were killed and dozens injured after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck along the mountainous border between China and Kyrgyzstan last year.

An earthquake in northwestern China in December 2023 killed 148 people and displaced thousands in Gansu province.

That earthquake was the deadliest in China since 2014, when more than 600 people died in the southwestern province of Yunnan.

In the December 2023 earthquake, subzero temperatures made the relief operation launched in response even more challenging, with survivors huddled around outdoor fires to stay warm.