A devastating earthquake in Tibet killed at least 95 people and collapsed “many buildings” yesterday, Chinese state media reported, with tremors also felt in neighboring Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, and parts of India.
Videos published by state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) showed houses destroyed with walls torn apart.
Rescue workers waded through rubble strewn across the ruins in the aftermath, footage showed, while some gave locals thick blankets to keep warm in subzero temperatures.
Photo: AFP
The quake struck rural, high-altitude Tingri County, about 80km north of Mount Everest near China’s border with Nepal, at about 9am.
Sangji Dangzhi, whose supermarket in Tingri sustained considerable damage, described the situation as “very serious,” with ambulances taking people to hospital throughout the day.
“Here the houses are made from dirt so when the earthquake came ... lots of houses collapsed,” the 34-year-old said.
Surveillance images published by CCTV showed people running through a store’s aisles as shelves shook violently, sending objects like toys tumbling to the ground.
About 95 people had been confirmed dead and 130 others injured as of 3pm, Xinhua news agency said.
More than 1,000 houses have been damaged, it reported earlier.
The China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) measured the quake’s magnitude as 6.8, while the US Geological Survey reported it as 7.1.
When tourist Meng Lingkang arrived in the town of Lhatse, 65km from the epicenter, where he had booked a restaurant, “the buildings had cracked open.”
“Some of the older houses collapsed, and a large part of the buildings made from bricks had cracked open, with big fissures,” the 23-year-old said.
Videos showed debris scattered in front of streetside eateries.
“There were quite a few [rescue vehicles]. One after the other they arrived,” Meng added.
The area most affected is surrounded by mountainous terrain on the Chinese side of Mount Everest.
Tingri, the epicenter, is home to about 62,000 people, and is much less developed than urban centers like Tibet’s capital, Lhasa.
Many of the fallen houses appeared to be constructed using traditional materials such as stone, mud bricks and wooden beams.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has called for “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,” CCTV said.
Temperatures in Tingri are projected to drop to minus-16°C overnight, according to the Chinese Meteorological Administration.
In Taipei, President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday offered condolences to the families of those who died or were injured in the earthquake.
Lai on social media platform X wrote in English that “our thoughts are with the people of Tibet and the surrounding areas impacted by the devastating earthquake.”
“We extend our deepest condolences to the victims’ families, and we pray that rescue & aid efforts reach those in need to ensure a swift recovery,” he said.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) expressed its condolences and concern for victims of the temblor.
The MAC in a statement said it sent the message of condolences to Chinese authorities through the cross-strait communication mechanism.
It said it has tasked the semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation with determining whether any Taiwanese were killed, injured or trapped by the earthquake.
Additional reporting by CNA
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
RSS