OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
2:03 PM – Tuesday, January 7, 2025
At least 126 people were killed Tuesday by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake that occurred close to one of Tibet’s most sacred cities, according to Chinese state media.
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The U.S. Geological Survey reports that the earthquake, which was detected just after 9 a.m. (8 p.m. ET Monday), was centered at a depth of almost 6 miles.
The earthquake struck Dingri County in Shigatse, a hilly area of western China that borders Nepal, and was measured by Chinese authorities as having an initial magnitude of 6.8. It was later corrected to 7.1.
The Panchen Lama, the second most significant spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama, resides in Shigatse, which is roughly 240 miles from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.
China’s state-run news agency, Xinhua, reported that at least 126 people were killed and 130 were injured. Some people were trapped as numerous homes close to the epicenter collapsed.
Chinese state television CCTV also announced that more than two dozen villages, home to roughly 6,900 people, are located within 12 miles of the epicenter.
According to locals, one factor contributing to the high death toll was the shoddy construction of homes close to the epicenter.
The situation is “very serious,” said a local resident named Sangji Dangzhi, 34, whose supermarket in neighboring Tingri county sustained major damage.
“Here, the houses are made from dirt, so when the earthquake came … lots of houses collapsed,” Dangzhi noted.
Videos from Lhatse County in Shigatse, whose location was confirmed by NBC News, showed billboards that had been ripped apart and, in some cases, buildings whose walls and roofs had completely collapsed closer to the epicenter of the earthquake.
Other footage showed roadsides littered with fallen trees and rubble, with multiple cars trembling violently as they were hit by the debris. The blocks of concrete that had once been sidewalks were scattered.
Liu Huazhong, the deputy mayor of Shigatse, stated during a press conference that more than 3,400 military and firefighting troops, together with 340 medical workers, have been sent to the region by Chinese authorities.
150 cars with search and rescue equipment had been dispatched, Liu continued, and power disruptions had been recorded in a number of locations.
“A batch of disaster relief supplies including self-heating rice, mineral water, instant noodles, cold-resistant coats, cold-resistant shoes, blankets, beds, and tents has been urgently allocated by the townships,” Liu said.
Residents of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, which is 250 miles away, were also awakened by the vibrations.
The Himalayan region, which is situated along a fault line between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, experiences somewhat frequent earthquakes. According to the USGS, there have been ten earthquakes of a magnitude of six or higher within 150 miles of Tuesday’s epicenter in the last century.
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