6.8-magnitude earthquake jolts Tibet, kills 126 people

Beijing, Jan 7: 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.
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.
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.
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.
China has announced the closure of the tourist places near its side of the Mt Everest even when the tourists and the staff of the many resorts in the area were reported to be safe.
At least half a dozen tremors with magnitude ranging from 4 to 5 were also recorded within a time span of an hour around 7 am (Nepal time), according to the USGS report. (PTI)