Hong Kong At least 32 people were killed Tuesday by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake that occurred close to one of Tibet’s holiest cities, according to Chinese state media.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake was centered at a depth of almost 6 miles and was detected shortly after 9 a.m. (8 p.m. ET Monday).
The earthquake struck Dingri County in Shigatse, a hilly area of western China that borders Nepal, and was measured by Chinese authorities as a magnitude 6.8 earthquake. The Panchen Lama, the second most significant spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama, resides in Shigatse, which is roughly 240 miles from the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.
China’s main news agency, Xinhua, reported at least 32 people were killed. Some people were still trapped after numerous homes close to the epicenter fell.
Chinese state television CCTV said that more than two dozen villages, home to roughly 6,900 people, are located within 12 miles of the epicenter.
Nearly 1,500 fire and rescue workers have been sent to the region by Chinese authorities, the broadcaster continued. The disaster’s complete scope is still being determined.
Residents of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, which is about 250 miles away, were also awakened by the earthquakes.
There was no damage reported right away.
The Himalayan region, which is situated along a fault line between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, experiences frequent earthquakes. According to the USGS, there have been ten earthquakes of a magnitude of six or higher within 150 miles of Tuesday’s epicenter in the last century.
In 2008, a huge earthquake in the Sichuan province in southwest China killed about 70,000 people.
One of the deadliest earthquakes in Nepal’s history, the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in 2015 destroyed about a million buildings and claimed nearly 9,000 lives.
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