Powerful earthquake kills at least 95 in western China near Mount Everest

A strong earthquake killed at least 95 people in Tibet on Tuesday and left many others trapped as dozens of aftershocks shook the high-altitude region of western China and across the border in Nepal.

Officials in the region said at a brief news conference that 130 others were injured, state broadcaster CCTV said.

Video on CCTV showed orange-suited rescue workers climbing piles of debris blocking homes in a heavily damaged village, while chunks that had been knocked off buildings littered streets and crushed cars in other areas.

State media reported that about 1,000 houses were damaged, citing the Tibet earthquake relief headquarters.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake measured magnitude 7.1 and was relatively shallow at a depth of about 10 kilometres. China recorded the magnitude as 6.8. 

The epicentre was about 75 kilometres northeast of Mount Everest, which straddles the China-Nepal border. The area is seismically active and is where the India and Eurasia plates clash and cause uplifts in the Himalayan mountains strong enough to change the heights of some of the world's tallest peaks.

About 50 aftershocks were recorded in the three hours after the earthquake, and the Mount Everest scenic area on the Chinese side was closed after the quake.

About 1,500 fire and rescue workers were deployed to search for people, the Ministry of Emergency Management. Two hundred soldiers joined the search, CCTV said.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for all-out efforts to rescue people, minimize casualties and resettle those whose homes were damaged. Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing was dispatched to the area to guide the work.

CCTV said there are a handful of communities within five kilometres of the epicentre, which was 380 kilometres from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, and about 23 kilometres from the region's second-largest city of Shigatse, known as Xigaze in Chinese.

The average altitude in the area around the epicentre is about 4,200 metres, the China Earthquake Networks Center said in a social media post.

In Nepal, authorities asked officials in the mountainous area near the epicentre to search for any casualties or damage.

The National Emergency Operation Center in Kathmandu said people in northeastern Nepal strongly felt the earthquake but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage to houses.

A police officer in Solukhumbu district, where Mount Everest is located, said by telephone that there were no reports of damage. The area, often crowded with climbers and hikers, was empty in the depth of winter. Many residents move to the south to avoid the harsh winter.