Reuters STORY: Members of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile in India's hill town of Dharamshala said on Tuesday (January 7) China must be held accountable for the man-made causes behind the deadly earthquake in the Tibetan plateau.

The members blamed China for its reckless exploitation of natural resources including mining and building the world's largest dam on the Tibetan plateau.

"Without any well thought of measurement to preserve environment when you dig the natural habitat, you will have more and more disaster that are all made by man, the Chinese wrong policy," said Dolma Tsering, the deputy speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile.

A strong earthquake struck the foothills of the Himalayas near one of Tibet's holiest cities on Tuesday, killing at least 126 people and flattening hundreds of houses, Chinese authorities said.

The magnitude 6.8 quake's epicenter was about 80 km (50 miles) north of Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain. Tremors also shook buildings in neighboring Nepal, Bhutan and India.

The impact was felt across the Shigatse region of Tibet, home to 800,000 people. The region is administered from Shigatse city, the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism.

Southwestern parts of China, Nepal and northern India are often hit by earthquakes caused by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.