AT LEAST 126 people have died after a devastating earthquake ripped through one of Tibet’s holiest cities.
The 7.1 magnitude earthquake destroyed “many buildings” in Shigatse, injuring 130 people and causing havoc in parts of Nepal and India.
The quake has also left dozens missing, and rescue teams are desperately searching for survivors, according to the China Earthquake Networks Centre (CENC).
At least 188 people were injured in Tibet, on the Chinese side of the border, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
China’s Ministry of Emergency Management posted videos showing two people being carried on stretchers by workers who were treading over debris from collapsed homes.
They were seen climbing mounds of broken bricks, some using ladders, in severely damaged villages.
The earthquake also shook Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak at 29,000 feet, but everyone on the mountain is believed to be safe.
A spokesperson issued a statement earlier this morning: “Fifty-three people have been confirmed dead, and 62 others injured as of Tuesday noon, after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Dingri County in the city of Xigaze in Xizang Autonomous Region at 9.05am Tuesday.”
Hours later, the US Geological Survey (USGC) reported the tremor to be 7.1 magnitude.
According to their data, the earthquake was six miles deep.
Terrifying footage captures the moment the deadly tremors began to rock the Tibetan city and Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.
According to Chinese state media, the earthquake shook a surveillance camera and destroyed 1,000 homes in Tibet.
Images show that many buildings in the region have collapsed, with walls knocked down and cars battered by falling debris.
The streets are littered with broken bricks as teams continue their searches.
Chinese President Xi Jinping directed his teams to assist with the search for survivors and the rehoming of affected residents.
The Chinese air force is even using specialist drones to scour the rubble around the base of Mount Everest, which is approximately 50 miles from the epi centre of the earthquake.
Data from the USGS revealed that the world’s tallest mountain experienced tremors of up to 4.5 magnitude.
It is unclear if any climbers were on Everest at the time and whether they were safely rescued.
China’s worst ever earthquakes
- May 2008: A magnitude 7.9 earthquake leaves nearly 90,000 people dead or missing and presumed dead in the Sichuan province
- April 2010: A magnitude 7.1 earthquake kills 2,698 people in Qinghai province
- April 2013: Three years later a magnitude 7.0 earthquake kills 196 people in Sichuan
- July 2013: Another 95 died just a few months on after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake rocked Gansu province
- August 2014: A magnitude 6.1 earthquake kills 617 people in Yunnan province
- September 2022: An earthquake wipes out 93 people in Sichuan after a magnitude 6.8 earthquake
- December 2023: A magnitude 6.2 quake kills 126 people in Gansu and Qinghai provinces
- January 2025: At least 126 dead as massive 7.1 magnitude earthquake collapses buildings in Tibet
Many villages along the Nepalese border that were impacted by tremors are extremely difficult to reach, making rescue missions difficult.
These areas are frequently sparsely populated and so isolated that they can only be reached on foot with limited supplies.
Temperatures are well below freezing, and tens of thousands of residents have lost access to power and water.
Shigatse is widely regarded as one of Tibet’s holiest cities due to its extensive history and traditions.
It is the seat of the Panchen Lam, a key figure in Tibetan Buddhism and the second most authoritative spiritual figure after the Dalai Lama.
Jiang Haikun, a CENC researcher, warned that another magnitude 5 earthquake could occur in the coming hours.
However, he stated that “the likelihood of a larger earthquake is low”.
Nepal is especially vulnerable to earthquakes because it sits between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.
Today’s quake, however, is the most powerful recorded within a 200-kilometre radius in the last five years, according to the CENC.
