At least 32 people were confirmed dead and 38 others injured after a major earthquake struck China’s mountainous Tibet region on Tuesday morning, Chinese state media reported.
The earthquake that struck the holy city of Shigatse in Tibet around 9 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) had a magnitude of 7.1 and a depth of 10 kilometers (six miles), according to data from the US Geological Survey, which also showed a series of aftershocks in the region.
Tremors were also felt in neighboring Nepal and parts of India.
Earthquakes are common in the region, located on a major geological fault line.
Shigatse is considered one of the holiest cities in Tibet. It is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, a key figure in Tibetan Buddhism whose spiritual authority is second only to the Dalai Lama.
Chinese state media reported the quake had a magnitude of just under 6.8, causing “obvious” shaking and leading to damage to more than 1,000 homes.
Posts on social media show collapsed buildings and several strong aftershocks occurred.
“After a major earthquake, there is always a gradual attenuation process,” Jiang Haikun, a researcher at the China Earthquake Networks Center, told CCTV.
Although another earthquake with a magnitude of around 5 could still occur, Jiang said “the probability of a larger earthquake is low.”
The Chinese air force has launched rescue operations and drones in the affected area, which is located at the foot of Mount Everest and where temperatures are well below freezing.
Electricity and water were cut off in the area.
Although tremors were felt in Nepal, no damage or casualties were reported, a local official in the Nepalese region of Namche, near Everest, told AFP.
Tibet’s earthquake office told the BBC on Tuesday it was unable to provide casualty estimates because it was still verifying the figures.
The region, located on a major fault line where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collided, is the site of frequent seismic activity. In 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake near Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, killed nearly 9,000 people and injured more than 20,000.
