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.

A powerful earthquake has rocked the northern foothills of the Himalayas near one of Tibet’s holiest cities, killing at least 53 people and shaking buildings in neighbouring Nepal, Bhutan and India.

A major earthquake hit a secluded region of Tibet on the morning of January 7, resulting in considerable destruction. Authorities in China reported that the earthquake struck the northern foothills of the Himalayas,