Tibet earthquake: at least 53 dead as strong quake strikes near holy Shigatse city – live updates
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Pictures are starting to trickle in from the areas affected by the earthquake, although they’re still few and far between. Here are a couple from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, where tremors sent people out onto the streets:. Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the earthquake in Tibet.
![[People gather in an open area following earthquake tremors in Kathmandu.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c28f392cb2a066ab153390139682629533433921/0_146_4030_2419/master/4030.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The quake struck near one of Tibet’s holiest cities, the China Earthquake Networks Centre (CENC) has said, killing at least 53 people and collapsing “many buildings” with tremors also felt in neighbouring Nepal’s capital Kathmandu and parts of India.
![[People gather in an open area following earthquake tremors in Kathmandu.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2c46f479d5a9eda925c85e54cc63c25a61cdb517/0_340_3962_2377/master/3962.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The quake struck Dingri county with a magnitude of 6.8 near the border with Nepal on Tuesday morning, according to the China Earthquake Networks Centre (CENC). The US Geological Survey reported the tremor as magnitude 7.1. “Fifty-three people have been confirmed dead, and 62 others injured as of Tuesday noon, after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Dingri County in the city of Xigaze in Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region at 9:05 am Tuesday,” the official Xinhua news agency said.
Videos published by China’s state broadcaster CCTV showed destroyed houses with walls torn apart and rubble strewn across the ruins in the aftermath of the earthquake. Temperatures in Dingri are around minus 8 degrees Celsius and will drop to minus 18 this evening, according to the China Meteorological Administration, AFP reported.
The high-altitude county in the Tibet region is home to about 62,000 people and situated on the Chinese side of Mount Everest. While earthquakes are common in the region, Tuesday’s quake was the most powerful recorded within a 200-kilometre radius in the last five years, the CENC added.
