Earthquake in Tibet: At least 126 people died, they are looking for survivors

At least 126 people were killed and 188 injured in a powerful earthquake that hit the foothills of the Himalayas near one of the holiest places in Tibet on Tuesday, Chinese authorities said. The epicenter of the magnitude 6.8 earthquake was located in Tingri, about 80 kilometers north of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, and was also felt in the neighboring countries of Nepal, Bhutan and India. Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) announced on Tuesday that tremors were felt in seven hill districts bordering Tibet.

The earthquake was so strong that part of the terrain around the epicenter slipped almost two meters, the US Geological Survey (USGS) announced. There are three towns and 27 villages within 20 kilometers of the epicenter. A total of about 6,900 inhabitants live there.

Twenty-four hours after the earthquake, people trapped in the ruins, if they are still alive, have suffered temperatures that have dropped well below zero, and rescuers are intensifying their efforts in the search for survivors. It is an extremely demanding rescue operation, considering that the search for survivors is taking place in an area the size of Cambodia.

Temperatures in areas at higher altitudes drop to minus 18 degrees Celsius, and people trapped in the ruins or those without any shelter are exposed to the risk of hypothermia. In these conditions, even when a person is not injured, they can survive for five to ten hours.

The Chinese authorities have yet to release the number of missing persons.

In Nepal, an earthquake destroyed a school building in a village at the foot of Mount Everest, on the pass between Nepal and Tibet. Fortunately, the school was empty at the time of the earthquake.

German alpinist Jost Kobusch reported that at the moment of the earthquake he was just above the base camp under Everest, on the Nepalese side. His tent shook violently and several avalanches followed, but he remained unharmed.

“I decided to climb Everest solo in winter conditions and it seems that I am the only climber here. There is no one at the base camp,” reported Kobusch.

Satori Adventure, the company that organized his expedition, reported that Kobusch had left base camp and was descending to Namche Bazaar, Nepal.

On the Tibetan side, the damage from the earthquake is enormous. The first information is about 3,609 destroyed houses in the Shigatse region, which is home to about 800,000 people. The region is administered from the city of the same name, the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, one of the most important figures of Tibetan Buddhism.

About 1,800 rescuers are participating in the search for survivors, and 1,600 Chinese soldiers have also been deployed.

Over 30,000 people had to be moved to safety. Tingri, the most populous district in Tibet, is home to 60,000 people.

So far, there are no reports of damage to the Tashilhunpo monastery in Shigatse, which was founded in 1447 by the first Dalai Lama.

The current, 14th Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet expelled in 1959 with thousands of Tibetan refugees fleeing the Chinese communist authorities, announced that he was deeply saddened by the news.

In addition to the Dalai Lama, Japanese Prime Minister Shugeru Ishiba, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te also sent expressions of sympathy.

After the earthquake, the ground continues to shake and so far more than 500 aftershocks of magnitude up to 4.4 have been recorded.