A huge magnitude 7.1 earthquake has hit the holy city of Shigatse, or Xigazê, in the autonomous region of Tibet in China.

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,

Rescue workers in China ’s mountainous Tibet region are racing to reach survivors trapped under the rubble as night temperatures drop far below freezing point following a powerful earthquake.