Lhasa, April 25 (IANS): Houses collapsed in parts of Tibet, when an 8.1-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal earlier on Saturday, also hit the region.

Houses collapsed in Kyirong county, and communications signals were interrupted in Kyirong and Dram counties on the Nepal border, head of Kyirong county Hu Hong said.

Tremors were felt in the regional capital of Lhasa as well as Shigatse City, Xinhua reported.

According to China Earthquake Networks Centre (CENC) , the 8.1-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal in the afternoon.

The epicentre was in Lamjung in Nepal, a district some 75 km northwest of capital Kathmandu, and was monitored at 28.2 degrees north latitude and 84.7 degrees east longitude, and the focus of the quake is 31 km deep, the centre said.

The US Geological Survey put the quake at 7.5 magnitude.

Twelve minutes after the Nepal earthquake, a minor quake of 3.1 magnitude was also monitored at the Qijiang district of southwest China's Chongqing municipality, the CENC added.

Tremors were felt in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.