A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 that killed at least 95 people in western China near Nepal was one of the country’s deadliest in nearly a decade.

BEIJING/KATHMANDU- A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the foothills of the Himalayas near one of Tibet's holiest cities on Tuesday, killing at least 95 people and collapsing hundreds of houses, Chinese authorities said.

The magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck a region near one of Tibet’s holiest cities, close to the Himalayan border with Nepal.

Tibet is a seismically active zone that logged more than 100 earthquakes of magnitude of at least 3.0 last year.

A strong earthquake shook a high-altitude region of western China and areas of Nepal on Tuesday, damaging hundreds of houses, littering streets with rubble and killing at least 95 people in Tibet. Many others were trapped as dozens of aftershocks shook the remote region.