January 7, 2025, 9:33 AM
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Images show the aftermath of the earthquake, here in Kathmandu. (Photo: Sunil Sharma/dpa)
The tremor of magnitude 6.8 is still felt hundreds of kilometers away. More and more victims are being recovered, and the number of injured is also rising.
In an earthquake of magnitude 6.8, at least 95 people have died in the Chinese region of Tibet. This is reported by the state news agency Xinhua. In addition, at least 130 people were injured. The US Geological Survey even recorded a value of 7.1. Aftershocks were also registered.
The earthquake occurred on Tuesday around 9 a.m. local time in the region around the city of Shigatse (Xigazê) on the northern side of the Himalayas, as reported by the Chinese Earthquake Center. The epicenter was located at a depth of ten kilometers. According to Chinese state television CCTV, six villages are within a five-kilometer radius of the epicenter. According to Xinhua, about 6,900 people live within approximately 20 kilometers of the epicenter. Authorities are in close contact with the communities to assess the impact of the quake.
The tremors were felt as far away as the approximately 400 kilometers distant Nepalese capital Kathmandu, where residents left their homes in fear. The earthquakes were also felt in Bhutan's capital Thimphu and in the Indian state of Bihar, which borders Nepal. "We felt a very strong earthquake. So far, we have not received any reports of injuries or property damage," said Anoj Raj Ghimire, district chief of the Solukhumbu district in Nepal, at the foot of Mount Everest. Security forces and the local population have been mobilized to gather information about possible damage.
Shigatse is the seat of the Panchen Lama, one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism. The southwestern parts of China, Nepal, and northern India are often plagued by earthquakes caused by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. In 2008, nearly 70,000 people lost their lives in a devastating earthquake in the Chinese province of Sichuan. In 2015, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 near Kathmandu in neighboring Nepal resulted in around 9,000 fatalities.