Beijing, Jan. 21 (BNA): More bodies were found Friday following an avalanche that buried cars outside a highway tunnel in Tibet, raising the death toll to 28, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Pictures from the exit point of the tunnel linking the city of Ningchi in southwestern Tibet with a remote county showed about half a dozen bulldozers digging through the thick snow. Reports said about 1,000 rescuers joined the effort.
Tons of snow and ice collapsed at the mouth of the tunnel on Tuesday night, trapping drivers in their cars, the Associated Press reported.
Many people headed home for China’s Lunar New Year holiday, which starts on Sunday.
Nyingchi is located at an altitude of nearly 10,000 feet (3,048 metres), about a five-hour drive from the provincial capital, Lhasa, along a highway opened in 2018.
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