Magnitude 6.8 earthquake at the foot of the Himalayas in Tibet, 53 dead

BEIJING (Reuters) – A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck a region of southern Tibet near the Himalayas on Tuesday morning, killing at least 53 people according to a provisional toll reported by the Chinese official press, while tremors were also felt in the neighboring countries of Nepal and India.

According to the Chinese Seismology Center, the epicenter of the earthquake which occurred at 9:05 a.m. (01:05 GMT) was located at a depth of ten kilometers in the Shigatse region, known for serving as a base camp for those wishing to climb Everest.

The earthquake was felt across the region, also shaken by a series of aftershocks with magnitudes up to 4.4.

Tremors extended as far as Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, some 400 kilometers away, where residents fled their homes.

It is common for southern areas of China, Nepal and northern India to be shaken by earthquakes. Nearly 70,000 people were killed by a powerful earthquake in Sichuan province in 2008. In 2015, a 7.8 magnitude tremor struck near Kathmandu, killing around 9,000 people.

The official Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday that at least 53 people were killed and 62 others injured in Tibet.

In Nepal, the National Disaster Management Agency (NDRRMA) said it currently had no information regarding potential victims. “We have mobilized police, security forces and local authorities to gather information,” NDRRMA spokesperson Dizan Bhattarai told Reuters.

Many sparsely populated villages are difficult to access and can only be reached on foot.

(Joe Cash, with Gopal Sharma and Jatindra Dash; French version Jean Terzian)