Dharamsala, Jan 7, 2025
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Tuesday expressed sadness over the devastating earthquake that struck Tibet and surrounding regions, causing the tragic loss of many lives, numerous injuries, and extensive destruction to homes and public property.
“I offer my prayers for those who have lost their lives and extend my wishes for a swift recovery to all who have been injured,” the spiritual leader said in a statement from Bylakuppe Tibetan settlement in Karnataka.
As many as 95 people were killed and 130 injured after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit Tibet, shaking buildings in neighbouring Nepal, Bhutan and even India.
In India, the tremors of the temblor were felt in Bihar, Assam and West Bengal.
The epicentre of the earthquake on Tuesday was in Tingri county in Shigatse city. Tingri is about 400 km southwest of Tibet’s capital Lhasa and is on the border with Nepal. It is a tourism hub for those visiting Mount Everest.
In 2010, the Dalai Lama had appealed to Beijing to allow him to visit a Tibetan area hit by a deadly earthquake, saying he wanted to comfort the victims.
“To fulfil the wishes of many of the people there, I am eager to go there myself to offer them comfort,” the Tibetan spiritual leader had said in a statement in Dharamsala, his home in exile in northern India.
At that time more than 1,000 people were killed and more than 11,744 injured when the 7.1-magnitude quake struck Yushu in the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
“Because of the physical distance between us, at present I am unable to comfort those directly affected. I commend the monastic community, young people and many other individuals from nearby areas for their good neighbourly support and assistance to the families of those who have lost everything,” he had said.
The Dalai Lama has lived in the north Indian hill station Dharamsala since fleeing his homeland in 1959. Over 150,000 Tibetans live outside Tibet, most of them in India.(Agency)
