BEIJING — 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.

More than 400 people have been rescued, Chinese state media says, since the quake struck on Tuesday, some 50 miles from the base of Mount Everest, destroying thousands of homes.

Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing arrived on Wednesday to oversee the operation, which is being hampered by winter temperatures that dropped to -16C overnight.

Earthquakes are common in the region, which lies on a major geological fault line, but Tuesday's was one of China's deadliest in recent years.

The magnitude 7.1 quake, which struck at a depth of 10 km (six miles), according to data from the US Geological Survey, was also felt in Nepal and parts of India, which neighbour Tibet.

Internet access is restricted in Tibet, which is tightly controlled by Beijing, and reporters cannot travel there without government permission. So much of what we know about the quake and its aftermath is from Chinese state media.

The air force has been deployed and drones dispatched to help rescuers, as President Xi Jinping called for all-out efforts to minimize casualties and resettle affected residents.

State-owned People's Daily says more than 30,000 people have been relocated in the region. Electricity and mobile phone service in Tingri county, near the epicenter, were restored by Wednesday morning, according to state media.

Officials estimate that more than 3,600 buildings had collapsed, potentially leaving thousands without shelter.

Videos published by China's state broadcaster CCTV showed houses destroyed and buildings brought down in Tibet's holy Shigatse city, with rescue workers wading through debris and handing out thick blankets to locals.

Sangji Dangzhi - whose supermarket was damaged in the earthquake - told news agency AFP by phone that the destruction of homes had been extensive.

"Here the houses are made from dirt so when the earthquake came... lots of houses collapsed," the 34-year-old said, adding that ambulances had been taking people to hospital throughout the day.

A hotel resident in Shigatse told Chinese media outlet Fengmian News he had been jolted awake by a wave of shaking. He said he had grabbed his socks and rushed out on to the street, where he saw helicopters circling above.

"It felt like even the bed was being lifted," he said, adding that he immediately knew it was an earthquake because Tibet recently experienced multiple smaller quakes.

There were more than 40 aftershocks in the first few hours following the quake.

Jiang Haikun, a researcher at the China Earthquake Networks Center, told CCTV that while another earthquake of around magnitude 5 might still occur, "the likelihood of a larger earthquake is low".

Sitting at the foot of Mount Everest, which separates Nepal and China, Tingri county is a popular base for climbers preparing to ascend the world's tallest peak.

Everest sightseeing tours in the area have been cancelled, a tourism staff member told local media, adding that the area had been closed. There were three visitors who had all been moved to an outdoor area for safety, they said.

Shigatse region, home to 800,000 people, is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, a key figure of Tibetan Buddhism whose spiritual authority is second only to the Dalai Lama.

Tibetan Gedhun Choekyi Niyima who was identified as the reincarnated Panchen Lama was disappeared by China in 1995 when he was six years old. China then chose its own Panchen Lama.

"I offer my prayers for those who have lost their lives and extend my wishes for a swift recovery to all who have been injured," the current Dalai Lama said in a statement.

He fled Tibet to India in 1959 after China annexed the region, and has since been seen as an alternative source of power for Tibetans who resent Beijing's control - which extends to local media and internet access.

While strong tremors were felt in Nepal, no major damage or casualties were reported, an official from the National Emergency Operations Centre told BBC Newsday - only "minor damages and cracks on houses".

The tremors on Tuesday morning, which sent many Kathmandu residents running out of their houses, brought back memories of the deadly 2015 quake. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit near Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, killing nearly 9,000 people and injuring more than 20,000.

"In 2015, when the earthquake hit, I could not even move," Manju Neupane, a shop owner in Kathmandu, told BBC Nepali. "Today the situation was not scary like that. But, I am scared that another major earthquake may hit us and we will be trapped between tall buildings." — BBC