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 the border with Nepal.
The region's authorities announced at a short press conference that 130 other people were injured, state television CCTV reported.
Closed-circuit television video showed rescuers in orange jumpsuits climbing over piles of rubble blocking homes in the badly damaged village, while pieces of collapsed buildings littered streets and crushed cars in other areas.
State media reported that about 1,000 houses were damaged, citing the humanitarian aid headquarters after the earthquake in Tibet.
The United States Geological Survey reported that the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1 and was relatively shallow at a depth of about 10 kilometers. China recorded a magnitude of 6.8.
The epicenter was about 75 kilometers northeast of Mount Everest, on the China-Nepalese border. The area is seismically active and is where the Indian and Eurasian plates collide, causing uplifts in the Himalayas so strong that they change the height of some of the world's highest peaks.
Mount Everest area closed
About 50 aftershocks were recorded in the three hours after the earthquake, and the scenic area of Mount Everest on the Chinese side was closed after the quake.
The Ministry of Crisis Management engaged about 1,500 firefighters and rescuers to search for people. According to CCTV, two hundred soldiers took part in the search.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for all efforts to save people, minimize casualties and resettle those whose homes were destroyed. Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing was sent to the area to lead the work.
CCTV said there were several communities within a five-kilometer radius of the epicenter, which was 380 km from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, and about 23 km from the region's second-largest city, Shigatse, called Xigaze in Chinese.
The average height in the area around the epicenter is about 4,200 meters, the China Earthquake Network Center said in a social media post.
Tremors felt in Nepal
In Nepal, authorities asked officials in a mountainous area near the epicenter to search for casualties or damage.
The National Emergency Operations Center in Kathmandu says residents in northeastern Nepal were hit hard by the earthquake, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or home damage.
A police official in the Solukhumbu district, where Mount Everest is located, said by telephone that there were no reports of damage. The area, often crowded with climbers and tourists, was empty in the middle of winter. Many residents move south to avoid the harsh winter.
About 230 kilometers from the epicenter of Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, the earthquake woke up residents and sent them rushing out of their homes and into the streets.
The USGS says there have been 10 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater in the area where Tuesday's earthquake occurred over the past century.