A magnitude 6.8 earthquake kills at least 95 people in Tibet

A strong earthquake killed at least 95 people in Tibet on Tuesday and left many others trapped as dozens of aftershocks shook the high-altitude region of western China and across the border in Nepal.

Officials in the region said at a brief news conference that 130 others were injured, state broadcaster CCTV said.

Video on CCTV showed rescue workers searching homes in a heavily damaged village, while chunks that had been knocked off buildings littered streets and crushed cars in other areas.

State media reported that about 1,000 houses were damaged and 130 people were injured in addition to the deaths, citing the Tibet earthquake relief headquarters.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake measured magnitude 7.1 and was relatively shallow at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6 miles). China recorded the magnitude as 6.8.

About 1,500 fire and rescue workers were deployed to search for people, the Ministry of Emergency Management. Two hundred soldiers joined the search, CCTV said.

The epicenter was about 75 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Mount Everest, which straddles the China-Nepal border. The seismically active area is where the India and Eurasia plates clash and cause uplifts in the Himalayan mountains, sometimes strong enough to change the heights of some of the world’s tallest peaks.

About 50 aftershocks were recorded in the three hours after the earthquake, and the Mount Everest scenic area on the Chinese side was closed after the quake.