BEIJING — A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Tibet's second-largest city on Tuesday morning, the China Earthquake Networks Centre said, shaking the area surrounding Shigatse city at 9.05am (0105 GMT).
The trembler had an epicentre depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), the report added. Tremors were felt as far away as Nepal's capital Kathmandu some 400 km (250 miles) away, according to Indian media, where residents reportedly ran from their houses.
China's state media reported that the earthquake killed at least 95 people and injured 130 others.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping ordered "all-out rescue efforts" to deal with the earthquake, Xinhua reported. Local authorities have deployed more than 1,500 people for search and rescue efforts, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.
A magnitude 6.8 quake is considered strong and can cause severe damage.
The United States Geological Survey put the earthquake at a magnitude of 7.0, saying it hit about 90 kilometres northeast of Lobuche, Nepal. Media outlets in Nepal have not reported any deaths or injuries from the quake.
An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 strikes Tibet's Shigatse region on Tuesday. (Image: United States Geological Survey)
Southwestern parts of China are frequently hit by earthquakes. A huge quake in Sichuan province in 2008 killed almost 70,000 people.
According to CCTV, there have been 29 earthquakes with magnitudes of 3 or higher within 200 km of the Shigatse quake in the past five years, all of which were smaller than the one that struck on Tuesday morning.
In 2015, a magnitude 7.8 tremor struck near Kathmandu in neighbouring Nepal, killing about 9,000 people and injuring thousands in that country's worst earthquake.
People come out from their houses during an earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday. (Photo: Reuters
China annexed Tibet in the 1950s. As in Xinjiang, the region has long endured intense social, security and religious controls. Beijing says it is suppressing what it calls terrorist and separatist elements while providing economic opportunities.
