Rescuers searched through damaged villages and streets littered with rubble for survivors after an earthquake struck one of Tibet's holiest cities, toppling houses and killing over 100 people, with aftershocks felt across the neighboring regions.

Villages report several people trapped under rubble and extensive damage, authorities say, as State Council dispatches task force.

The Tibetan plateau is known to be prone to heavy earthquakes as it sits right over the place where the tectonic Eurasian and Indian plates meet.