At least 53 people were killed and 62 others injured after a powerful earthquake struck Dingri county in the southwestern Tibet region, where the Chinese part of the Himalayas is located, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported today.
The earthquake tremors were recorded at around 9:05 a.m. local time in China, according to CENC, China's public seismological agency, which estimated the quake had a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter scale.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) earlier reported a magnitude 7.1 earthquake. The tremors were felt as far away as Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.
A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Dingri County in Shigatse, Tibet at 9:05 on the 7th. According to CCTV, nine people have been reported dead so far. #Tibet #Earthquakes pic.twitter.com/7lyL4OcWj3
— TMTPOST Titanium Media (@TMTPostGlobal) January 7, 2025
"The tremors were felt particularly in and around Dingri canton, and several buildings collapsed near the epicenter," state broadcaster CTV said earlier.
Dozens of aftershocks were reported after the quake. The official Xinhua news agency reported that local authorities were on the ground "assessing" the aftermath of the quake.
Although earthquake tremors are generally common in China's mountainous region, today's quake is the strongest recorded within a radius of 200 kilometers in the past five years, according to the CENC.
The earthquake was felt as far as Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, about 400 kilometers away, as the crow flies.