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 14,000 rescue workers have arrived in Tibet to continue the search for survivors after a strong earthquake killed at least 126 people in a remote part of western China.

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.