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Tibet quake: Rescue teams scramble to find survivors

January 8, 2025

Urgency is mounting in China's Tibet autonomous region after an earthquake near Mount Everest killed well over a hundred people. An unknown number remain unaccounted for.

https://p.dw.com/p/4ovhF
Rescue workers search for survivors in the aftermath of an earthquake in Changsuo Township of Dingri in Xigaze, southwestern China's Tibet Autonomous Region
The quake struck in Tibet's most populous county and left many without shelterImage: AP/picture alliance

Thousands of rescuers were on Wednesday searching for survivors in freezing conditions after a devastating earthquake in Tibet in Western China killed at least 126 people.

According to an initial survey in the Tibetan city of Shigatse, some 3,609 homes have been destroyed and the race is also on to deliver tents, quilts and other relief items to those in need.

What we know about the quake

The magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck about 75 kilometers (50 miles) from Mount Everest and the Nepalese border in Tingri, Tibet's most populous county.

It struck just after 9 a.m. local time (0100 GMT/UTC) on Tuesday. Hundreds of aftershocks have been recorded.

It shook buildings in China's southern neighbors Nepal, Bhutan and India.

Along with the dead on the Tibetan side, some 188 people were reported injured, with any deaths across the border yet to be announced.

Chinese authorities have yet to give an estimate of how many people are still missing. The temperature in Tingri was well below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, meaning many would have been exposed to freezing temperatures overnight.

People stand amidst damaged houses in the aftermath of an earthquake in Tonglai Village, Changsuo Township of Dingri in Xigaze
More than 3,600 houses have collapsed and over 30,000 people have been relocated, the official Xinhua news agency saysImage: AP/picture alliance

The county is at an average altitude of 4,500 meters (14,800 feet) above sea level.

Broadcast footage on Chinese state television showed families taking shelter in rows of blue and green tents that were swiftly erected by soldiers and aid workers. More than 1,800 emergency rescue personnel and 1,600 soldiers have been sent to the region.

Tingri, known as the northern gateway to Everest, is administered from the city of Shigatse, the traditional seat of one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism, the Panchen Lama.

State media reported that there were no reports of damage so far to the city's Tashilhunpo monastery, founded in 1447 by the first Dalai Lama.

What leaders have been saying

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged "all-out search and rescue efforts, minimizing casualties to the greatest extent possible, properly resettling affected residents, and ensuring their safety and warmth through the winter."

The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, said he was deeply saddened.

"I offer my prayers for those who have lost their lives and extend my wishes for a swift recovery to all who have been injured," the Nobel peace laureate, who fled to India after a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule, said.

Powerful earthquake kills dozens in Tibet

rc/lo (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)