Rescue workers are continuing their search for survivors after a powerful earthquake struck a remote region of Tibet, near Mount Everest, killing dozens and damaging over 1,000 buildings.
At least 126 people have been confirmed dead, and 188 others were injured, according to Chinese state media reports, following the earthquake that hit the Himalayan plains around 9:00 AM local time on Tuesday, as reported by the BBC and Gazeta Express.
A large-scale rescue operation has been launched, but survivors are facing additional pressure as temperatures are expected to drop to -16°C overnight.
Earthquakes are common in the region, which lies along a geologically active fault line, but Tuesday’s tremor was one of the deadliest in China in recent years.
The 7.1-magnitude earthquake, which struck at a depth of 10 kilometers according to data from the US Geological Survey, was also felt in Nepal and parts of India, which border Tibet.
Videos released by China’s state broadcaster CCTV showed destroyed homes and collapsed buildings in the sacred city of Shigatse, Tibet, with rescue workers sifting through rubble and distributing thick blankets to locals.
Temperatures in the Tingri district, near the earthquake’s epicenter in the northern plains of the Himalayas, had already dropped to -8°C before nightfall, according to the China Meteorological Administration.
