At least 32 confirmed dead, more than three dozen others injured as a powerful earthquake hits Tibet.
A strong earthquake shook a mountainous region in western China killing at least 32 people according to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua. Tremors were reportedly felt in Nepal and India.
At least 38 others were injured according to the regional disaster relief agency.
The US Geological Survey says the magnitude 7.1 earthquake was centred in the Tibet region at a depth of about 10 kilometres. The epicentre is approximately 380 kilometres from the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.
The epicentre was located where the Indian and Eurasian plates clash. The area is highly dangerous and can cause uplifts in the Himalayan mountains strong enough to change the heights of some of the tallest peaks in the world.
Chinese state media say the average altitude in the areas surrounding the epicentre is approximately 4,200 metres.
There are a handful of communities located within a few kilometres of the epicentre. It’s still unclear how much damage and destruction they suffered.
The earthquake was reportedly felt in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu. Some residents there were reportedly awakened by the tremor, but were not affected by it. No information was immediately available on the mountainous remote regions across the Nepalese border near the epicentre.
The US Geological Survey says there’s been more than 10 earthquakes of at least magnitude 6 to strike this area over the past century.
Our journalists are working on this story and will update it as soon as more information becomes available.
