95 killed as deadly quake rocks Tibet

New Delhi/Beijing: A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck near one of Tibet's holiest cities on Tuesday, killing at least 95 people and injuring 130 others with tremors also shaking buildings and forcing people to run to the streets in neighbouring Nepal.

According to regional disaster relief headquarters, the quake jolted Dingri County in Xigaze in Tibet Autonomous Region in China at 9:05 am on Tuesday (Beijing time).

A large-scale rescue operation was launched, with survivors under additional pressure as temperatures were predicted to fall as low as -16C (3.2F) overnight.

Earthquakes are common in the region, which lies on a major geological fault line, but Tuesday's was one of China's deadliest in recent years. The magnitude 7.1 quake, which struck at a depth of 10 km, according to data from the US Geological Survey, was also felt in Nepal and parts of India, which neighbour Tibet.

Videos published by China's state broadcaster CCTV showed destroyed houses and collapsed buildings in Tibet's holy Shigatse city, with rescue workers wading through debris and handing out thick blankets to locals. Temperatures in Tingri county, near the earthquake's epicentre in the northern foothills of the Himalayas, were already as low as -8C (17.6F) before night fell, according to the China Meteorological Administration.

Sangji Dangzhi - whose supermarket was damaged in the earthquake - said the damage to homes had been extensive. "Here the houses are made from dirt so when the earthquake came... lots of houses collapsed," the 34-year-old told news agency AFP by phone, adding that ambulances had been taking people to hospital through out the day.

A hotel resident in Shigatse told Chinese media outlet Fengmian News that he was jolted awake by a wave of shaking. He said he grabbed his socks and rushed out onto the street, where he saw helicopters circling above. "It felt like even the bed was being lifted," he said, adding that he immediately knew it was an earthquake because Tibet recently experienced multiple smaller quakes.

Both power and water in the region have been disrupted. There were more than 40 aftershocks in the first few hours following the quake.