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

China recorded the magnitude as 6.8. The U.S. Geological Survey said it measured 7.1, with an epicenter some 50 miles northeast of Mount Everest.

A strong earthquake killed at least 95 people in Tibet on Tuesday and left many others trapped as dozens of aftershocks shook the high-altitude region of western China and across the border in Nepal.