Authorities moved more than 45,000 people in earthquake-hit Tibet to shelters in a massive rescue operation at the foot of the Himalayas as they wound down the search in a high-altitude environment where the odds of survival were always slim.

More than 400 people trapped by rubble in earthquake-stricken Tibet have been rescued, Chinese officials said, with an unknown number still unaccounted for in freezing weather a day after a strong tremor rocked the Himalayan foothills.

More than 120 people have been killed after a powerful earthquake struck a remote region of Tibet on Tuesday morning, with tremors felt across the Himalayas in neighboring Nepal, Bhutan and parts of northern India.

Rescue workers in Tibet are searching for more survivors and victims, one day after a strong earthquake leveled thousands of houses and killed at least 126 people