A magnitude 6.8 earthquake has struck near one of Tibet’s holiest cities, the China Earthquake Networks Centre has said, damaging buildings around Shigatse and sending people running to the streets in neighbouring Nepal and India.
State media said nine people had died in the quake, which hit at 9.05am on Tuesday with an epicentre depth of 10km (6.2 miles).
“Dingri county and its surrounding areas experienced very strong tremors, and many buildings near the epicentre have collapsed,” state broadcaster CCTV said.
“The reporter learned that nine people have been confirmed dead so far,” adding that as of 10am, “multiple aftershocks” had been recorded.
Crumbled shop fronts could be seen in a video showing the aftermath from the nearby town of Lhatse, with debris spilling out on to the road.
Reuters was able to confirm the location from nearby buildings, windows, road layout, and signage that match satellite and street view imagery. The date could not be verified independently.
Tremors were felt in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu 400km (250 miles) away, where residents ran from their houses.
Tremors were also felt in the northern Indian state of Bihar which borders Nepal. As walls shook, people rushed out of their homes and apartments to open areas.
So far, no reports of any damage or loss to property have been received, officials in India said.
A magnitude 6.8 quake is considered strong and is capable of causing severe damage.
Southwestern parts of China are frequently hit by earthquakes. A huge quake in Sichuan province in 2008 killed almost 70,000 people.
According to China’s state broadcaster CCTV, there have been 29 earthquakes with magnitudes of three or higher within 200km of the Shigatse quake in the past five years, all of which were smaller than the one that struck on Tuesday morning.
In 2015, a magnitude 7.8 tremor struck near Kathmandu in neighbouring Nepal, killing about 9,000 people and injuring thousands in that country’s worst earthquake.
With Reuters and Agence France-Presse
