nearly 300 dead in Tibet after major earthquake

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Tibet on Tuesday January 7, according to local authorities. This is one of the worst disasters in recent years in the region. It was almost 9 a.m. this Tuesday morning when residents filmed the first damage.

Many houses did not survive. In images filmed by the Tibetans, the destruction is impressive. Entire neighborhoods are in ruins. The first rescuers dispatched to the scene began a race against time to free the victims from under the rubble as quickly as possible. On a Tibetan plateau at an altitude of 4,000 meters, near Nepal, several villages were affected. The human toll continues to rise in this autonomous region which has only 60,000 inhabitants. At -5 degrees, emergency services promise rapid intervention. Firefighters and soldiers were sent to the site, to the bedside of the victims.

Watch the full report in the video above.