Quake in China's Tibet kills 95 with tremors felt in Nepal, India

BEIJING — A devastating earthquake in China's remote Tibet region killed at least 95 people and collapsed "many buildings" on Tuesday, state media reported, with tremors also felt in neighbouring Nepal's capital Kathmandu and parts of India.

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 north of Mount Everest near China's border with Nepal, at around 9:00 am Tuesday.

Sangji Dangzhi, whose supermarket in Tingri suffered 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 told AFP by phone.

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.

Some 95 people have been confirmed dead and 130 others injured as of 3:00 pm (0700 GMT), Xinhua news agency said.

More than a thousand houses have been damaged, it reported earlier.

The China Earthquake Networks Centre [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, 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 told AFP.

Videos geolocated by AFP to Lhatse showed debris scattered in front of street side eateries.

"There were quite a few [rescue vehicles]. One after the other they arrived," Meng added.