Dozens of people were killed on Tuesday and many buildings destroyed when a powerful earthquake struck Tibet in western China, according to U.S. and Chinese agencies. Tremors were felt hundreds of kilometres away in neighboring Nepal and India.
The earthquake hit at 9:05 a.m. (20:05 ET on Monday) at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) in Dingri County in the Shigatse prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region, near the border with Nepal, said the China Earthquake Networks Centre, which recorded a magnitude 6.8 quake. The U.S. Geological Survey reported the earthquake was of magnitude 7.1. Multiple aftershocks of magnitudes of more than 4 struck the region. “Fifty-three people have been confirmed dead, and 62 injured as of Tuesday noon,” China’s state-owned media agency Xinhua said. More than 1,000 buildings were destroyed in one county alone.Rescue teams have been deployed, Chinese media reported.
Read more
