The Chinese air force has launched rescue efforts and drones to the affected area, which sits at the foot of Mount Everest and where temperatures are well below freezing.

Both power and water in the region have been cut off.

Chinese president Xi Jinping has also called for all-out search and rescue efforts to minimise casualties and resettle affected residents.

While tremors were felt in Nepal, no damage or casualties were reported, a local official in Nepal’s Namche region, near Everest, told AFP.

The region, which lies near a major fault line of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, is home to frequent seismic activity. In 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake near Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, killed nearly 9,000 people and injured over 20,000.