Authorities moved more than 47,000 people to shelters in earthquake-hit Tibet, Chinese officials said on Thursday, while rescuers widen a massive combing effort for survivors near the foothills of the Himalayas,

The death toll stood at 126 as of Tuesday evening. The quake struck the city of Xigaze, the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism.

Rescuers rushed to distribute blankets and tents to those displaced by the magnitude-7.1 quake that struck Tibetan villages near Nepal, toppling over 3,000 homes.