On January 7th at 9:05 am, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Dingri County in Shigatse City, Tibet. The earthquake has tragically resulted in at least 95 fatalities and 130 injuries. In the aftermath of the earthquake, many eyewitnesses have shared their harrowing experiences.
The epicenter of the earthquake was located 36 kilometers from Dingri County town, 164 kilometers from Shigatse City, and 379 kilometers from Lhasa.
Reports from The Paper stated that at 9:05 am when the earthquake struck, it was still dark in Zaxi Zong Village, Basong Village, Dingri County, Shigatse City. People were abruptly awakened from their sleep by the violent shaking and rushed outside their homes.
The owner of the Everest Bull Head Inn, Ciren Gedan, described how the entire inn was shaking during the earthquake, causing shelves with drinks to topple over. When he ran outside, he saw that the area was filled with villagers. The village experienced a power outage immediately after the earthquake and the inn remained without electricity until around 9:50 am.
Ciren Gedan mentioned that this was the strongest shaking felt since the devastating Nepal earthquake in 2015.
Surveillance footage from a local supermarket showed shelves violently shaking and goods falling to the ground during the earthquake. Some shop owners in Dingri County reported that post-earthquake, everyone ran to the streets, with cabinets in their shops cracking open, items falling to the ground, walls cracking, and tiles coming loose.
Public information revealed that Dingri County is a popular stop for mountaineers and tourists en route to Mount Everest. The epicenter was only fifty to sixty kilometers away from Everest, causing intense shaking at the Everest Base Camp and along the route.
Many tourists took to social media to share their experiences, mentioning that their vehicles were shaking heavily and that their phones displayed an “orange” earthquake alert, indicating that the seismic waves had reached Sakya County in Shigatse City.
A staff member at the Everest Base Camp scenic area stated that during the earthquake, only a few tourists were present, and when the shaking intensified, they urgently sought shelter inside eco-friendly vehicles. Currently, tourists at Everest have been relocated to a safe location.
Zhang Chaofan, the manager of the Rich Oxygen Hotel at the Everest Base Camp entrance transfer point near the Everest Base Camp, mentioned that around 9 am, while most people were still asleep and some early-rising tourists were having breakfast in the restaurant, the guests rushed out of the hotel when the earthquake struck. By noon, most of the staying guests had already left.
Following the earthquake, the hotel remained without power, and multiple cracks appeared in the building. The Everest Base Camp has issued a notice of closure of the scenic area.
Xi Zhenhua, the observatory supervisor at the China Academy of Sciences Mount Everest Atmospheric and Environmental Comprehensive Observation Research Station (Everest Station), reported that around 9:05 am, their living quarters at the Everest Station were noticeably shaking and the power went out. He and his colleagues sensed something was amiss, and upon seeing the 6.8 magnitude earthquake alert on their phones, they hastily ran outdoors wrapped in blankets. During that time, with temperatures below minus twenty degrees Celsius, villagers in the nearby Quzong Village also braved the cold and ran out of their homes to seek safety.
Additionally, according to a message in a travel group heading to Tibet, the tour guide leading a group to the Everest Base Camp on the 7th noticed many collapsed houses as they passed through Razi County. For safety reasons, they have now turned back towards Shigatse from Razi County. They observed numerous fire trucks and special police vehicles rushing towards the earthquake epicenter.
Furthermore, a hotel where a tourist was staying happened to be in Dingri County at the epicenter. According to the tourist, “The hotel was shaking so violently that it was hard to stand. The walls of the fire escape routes cracked. Although the situation is calm now, there are still aftershocks, and the road to Lhasa is also closed. We are in a dilemma, with no electricity in the hotel and unable to return to Lhasa.”
Official reports indicated that as of 3 pm on the 7th, the earthquake in Dingri County has resulted in at least 95 fatalities and 130 people injured to varying degrees, with thousands of houses damaged, affecting Changsuo Township, Queluo Township, and Cuoguo Township. Due to the Chinese Communist Party’s tendency to conceal disaster information, the actual situation may be more severe than officially announced.
Following the earthquake, aftershocks have continued. As of 12 pm today, a total of 49 aftershocks have been recorded, including 16 aftershocks of 3.0 magnitude and above, with the largest aftershock measuring 4.4 magnitude. Additionally, just before the 6.8 magnitude earthquake at 8:11 am, a 3.0 magnitude earthquake occurred at a location (latitude 28.53, longitude 87.42) very close to the epicenter, with a depth of 10 kilometers.
Experts have stated that from a structural standpoint, this earthquake occurred in the Himalayan tectonic belt, and “aftershocks” are likely to continue.
(A contribution from Epoch Times reporter Luo Ya to this report.)