Quake leaves 126 dead in Tibet

A devastating earthquake in China's remote Tibet region killed at least 126 people and damaged thousands of buildings on Tuesday, state media reported, with tremors also felt in neighbouring Nepal's capital Kathmandu, parts of India and parts of Bangladesh, reports AFP.

Videos published by China's state broadcaster 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.

The quake struck rural, high-altitude Tingri county, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Mount Everest near China's border with Nepal, at around 9:00 am (0100 GMT) on Tuesday.

"Here the houses are made from dirt so when the earthquake came... lots of houses collapsed," said 34-year-old Sangji Dangzhi, whose supermarket in Tingri suffered considerable damage.

Speaking to AFP by phone, Sangji described the situation as "very serious", with ambulances taking people to hospital throughout the day.

Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said the tremor, measuring 7.1 magnitude on the Richter scale, struck the epicentre at 7.05am Bangladesh Standard Time (BST) and the epicentre was around 618 kilometres north-west of BMD's seismic centre at Agargaon in the capital, it said.

However, no damages or casualties were reported in the country due to the earthquake.

In China 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. At least 126 people have been confirmed dead and 188 others injured as of 7:00 pm, CCTV said. Twenty-eight people in critical condition were transferred to hospital for treatment and 3,609 houses had collapsed, it added.

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, 65 kilometres from the epicentre, "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 told AFP. Videos geolocated by AFP to Lhatse 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.