Earthquake 50 miles from Mount Everest leaves at least 126 dead in Tibet

A powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake centered about 50 miles from Mount Everest left at least 126 dead in Tibet on Tuesday, reports say. 

Another 188 people have been injured on the Chinese side of the border, the Associated Press reported, citing the Xinhua News Agency.

Rescue workers climbed mounds of broken bricks, some using ladders in hard-hit villages, as a search is now ongoing for survivors. More than 1,000 homes are believed to have been damaged in the region. 

Videos posted by China's Ministry of Emergency Management showed two people being carried out on stretchers by workers treading over the uneven debris from collapsed homes. 

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The morning quake also woke up residents in Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu – about 140 miles from the epicenter – and sent them running out of their homes into the streets. 

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake measured magnitude 7.1 and was relatively shallow at a depth of about six miles. The epicenter was in Tibet's Tingri county.

About 50 aftershocks were recorded in the three hours after the earthquake, and the Mount Everest scenic area on the Chinese side was closed, according to The Associated Press. 

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The news agency cited CCTV as saying that more than 3,000 rescuers were deployed to the region to help with disaster relief. 

About 7,000 people live in three townships and 27 villages within 12.5 miles of the epicenter on the Chinese side, state media added. The average altitude in the area is about 13,800 feet, the Chinese earthquake center said in a social media post. 

On the southwest edge of Kathmandu, a video viewed by the AP showed water spilling out into the street from a pond in a courtyard with a small temple. 

"It is a big earthquake," a woman can be heard saying. "People are all shaking." 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.