Tibet avalanche: In a tragic incident, at least eight people were killed after an avalanche trapped vehicles outside a highway tunnel in Tibet. On Tuesday evening (January 17), the falling snow and ice collapsed at the exit of the tunnel connecting Nyingchi city in Tibet's southwest with outlying Medog county.
A day later authorities reported that it was not clear how many people remained missing as the search and rescue mission was still underway.
Rescures were rushed to the site
A total of 131 rescuers and 28 emergency vehicles were sent to the site, with the central government's Ministry of Emergency Management sending a team to assist.
Nyingchi lies at an elevation of about 3,040 metres (9,974 feet), about five hour's drive from the regional capital Lhasa along a highway opened in 2018. Nighttime temperatures during winter routinely drop well below the freezing point.
It should be noted here that Tibet is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about 2,500,000 km. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people.
(With inputs from AP)
