A rescue operation to find people trapped in an avalanche on a Tibetan highway has now ended, with at least 28 dead, according to Chinese state media.
People were trapped in their vehicles after snow fell outside a tunnel in the southeastern city of Ningchi on Tuesday evening.
Local aid workers say the avalanche was “driven by strong winds”.
It is not known how many people are still missing.
According to JEE News, citing a local government official, however, 53 survived, five of whom were seriously injured.
Local authorities sent 1,348 rescue workers and 236 pieces of equipment to help excavate the 7.5 km (4.66 mi) path, JEE News reported.
Avalanches covered a highway that connects the city of Pai in Menling County and Medog County in Tibet, a remote and predominantly Buddhist region in western China.
The mountain is about 4,500 meters (14,764 ft) high, with steep slopes and some of the road that runs along it is rough.
Experts from the local emergency rescue headquarters told Xinhua that rising temperatures also played a role in the disaster.
The Himalayas are often subject to avalanches, as they are home to the highest mountains in the world.
At least 26 people were killed in October after a climber’s Danda II was caught in an avalanche in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.
