New Delhi:A massive earthquake struck near one of holiest cities in southern Tibet on Tuesday, killing at least 126 people and injuring 188 with tremors forcing people to rush out to the streets also in parts of Nepal and India. China Earthquake Networks Centre (CENC) said the quake was of 6.8 magnitude while the US Geological Service (USGS) put it at 7.1 magnitude.
The quake jolted Dingri county in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) at 9:05 am (Beijing Time), with the epicentre located in Tsogo township, Dingri county, in the city of Xigaze. Xigaze is located 90 km north-east of Lobutse in the Khumbu Himalayan range in northeast Nepal, and is the last border town of Tibet not far from the Nepal-Tibet-Indian tri-junction touching Sikkim.
53 Killed In Massive Earthquake In Tibet; Tremors Felt Across North India, Nepal (ANI) Xigaze, also Shigaste, is the seat of Panchen Lama, the second most influential Buddhist monk after the Dalai Lama. The CENC said the quake struck at a depth of 10 km. Shallow quakes cause maximum damage, and Tuesday's quake highlighted the ecologically fragile nature of the Himalayan region prone for volatile seismic activity.
The quake also rattled Nepal and damaged buildings. However, there was no loss of life there. Several places in Bihar too were jolted, but there was no loss of life nor any damage to property. Footage shown by state-run Chinese TV showed people, including children, being pulled out from the rubble and being carried by stretchers to make shift medical camps.
The Tsogo township, where the epicentre was located, has a population of approximately 6,900 people within a 20-km radius. There are sparsely populated 27 villages within this area while the Dingri County has a population of over 61,000 people, official data shows.
The Dingri county lies on the northern slope of the Himalayas in southern Tibet. With an average altitude of 4,500 metres, it is home to the northern base camp of Mt Everest, referred in Tibet as Mount Qomolangma, the world's highest peak.
More than 3,400 rescuers and over 340 medical workers were sent to the quake-hit area, officials announced at a press conference after the earthquake. By midnight Beijing time, 126 people were confirmed dead and 188 injured, state-run news agency Xinhua said quoting officials. The toll was expected to go up as rescue efforts gathered momentum, officials said.
Kathmandu Shakes In Tremors
In Nepal, the earthquake sent residents running out of their homes in the capital, Kathmandu, Associated Press reported. Streets were filled with people woken up by the tremor.
Areas around Lobuche in Nepal in the high mountains near Mount Everest were also rattled by the tremors and a series of aftershocks.
"It shook quite strongly here, everyone is awake, but we don't know about any damages yet," AP quoted government official Jagat Prasad Bhusal in Nepal's Namche region, which lies nearer to Everest.
Meera Adhikari, a resident of Kathmandu, told ANI, "I was sleeping at the time (when the earthquake struck). The bed was shaking and I thought my child was moving the bed, I didn’t pay that much attention but the shaking of the window prompted me that it was an earthquake. I then hurriedly called my child and evacuated the house and came to the open ground."
Nepal lies on a major geological faultline where the Indian tectonic plate pushes up into the Eurasian plate, forming the Himalayas, and earthquakes are a regular occurrence.
Tremors Felt In North India
Tremors were felt across parts of North India, including Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim and Delhi-NCR on Tuesday morning.
The National Centre for Seismology (NCS) reported that the earthquake occurred at 6:35 am with its epicentre at a latitude of 28.86 degrees North and longitude 87.51 degrees East, at a depth of 10 kilometres. Two subsequent earthquakes were recorded in the region shortly after. A 4.7 magnitude tremor was reported at 7:02 am with its epicentre at latitude 28.60 degrees North and longitude 87.68 degrees East, at a depth of 10 kilometres. Minutes later, at 7:07 am, another earthquake of magnitude 4.9 was registered at latitude 28.68 degrees North and longitude 87.54 degrees East, at a depth of 30 kilometres. The tremors were strongly felt in parts of Bihar, prompting people to rush out of their homes and apartments in panic.
Apart from the capital Patna, the earthquake was also felt in more than half of the districts of Bihar including Purnia, Madhubani, Shivhar, Samastipur, Muzaffarpur, Motihari and Siwan. People got scared by the tremors and came out of their homes. People were scared to see swinging in many houses.
"I woke up in the morning and made tea for my husband. He was drinking his tea when the teacup in his hand began to shake. Meanwhile, the fans in the house also started swinging on their own. We realised that the ground was shaking beneath us. It became clear that there was an earthquake.," said Shweta Devi, a resident of Purnia. There are no reports of any casualties so far. (With inputs from agencies)
