BEIJING (Reuters) – A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the northern foothills of the Himalayas on Tuesday near one of Tibet’s holiest cities, damaging buildings around Shigatse and sending people running into the streets in neighboring Nepal and India. sent for
The China Earthquake Network Center said the epicenter of the 9:05 a.m. (0105 GMT) earthquake was at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).
Chinese state media said there were deaths after the quake, without giving further details.
Shigatse is the seat of the Panchen Lama, one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism, second only to the Dalai Lama in spiritual authority.
Shattered shop fronts can be seen in a video strewn with debris on the road after the nearby town of Lahatse.
Reuters was able to confirm the location from nearby buildings, windows, street layouts and signs matching satellite and Street View imagery.
China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported that local government officials were contacting nearby towns to assess the impact of the earthquake and assess casualties.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said there were six villages within 5 kilometers of the epicenter, without giving further details.
The tremors were felt about 400 kilometers (250 miles) away from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, where residents fled their homes.
Tremors were also felt in Bhutan’s capital Thimphu and the northern Indian state of Bihar, which borders Nepal, where people fled their homes as walls shook.
Indian officials said there have been no reports of any damage or loss of property so far.
A 6.8 magnitude earthquake is considered strong and is capable of causing serious damage.
“We felt a very strong earthquake,” said Anoj Raj Ghimire, chief district officer of Nepal’s Solukhumbu district, at the foot of Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain. We have not received any reports of injuries or physical damage so far. ”
“We have mobilized police and other security forces as well as local people to gather information about the damage,” he added.
The southwestern parts of China, Nepal and northern India are frequently affected by earthquakes due to the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.
A major earthquake in China’s Sichuan province in 2008 killed nearly 70,000 people, while a 7.8-magnitude quake near Kathmandu in 2015 killed nearly 9,000 and injured thousands in Nepal’s deadliest earthquake.
