Tibet Avalanche: In a tragic incident, at least eight people were killed after an avalanche hit them outside a highway tunnel in Tibet. On Tuesday evening (Jan 17), falling snow and ice fell at the exit of a tunnel connecting Nyingchi city to outlying Medog county in southwest Tibet.
A day later officials said it was not clear how many people were missing as search and rescue operations were still underway.
Rescue teams have been rushed to the spot
A total of 131 rescue teams and 28 emergency vehicles were dispatched to the site, with the central government’s Ministry of Emergency Management sending a team to assist.
Nyingchi is located at an altitude of about 3,040 meters (9,974 ft), about a five-hour drive from the regional capital Lhasa along a highway that opened in 2018. Nighttime temperatures regularly drop well below the freezing point during the winter.
It should be noted here that Tibet is a region in East Asia, which covers most of the Tibetan Plateau and extends for about 2,500,000 km. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people.
(with inputs from AP)