Devastating avalanche strikes motorway with 20 dead and 8 buried alive in snow

20 January 2023 , 13:22

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Members of a 1,000-person rescue operation trudge through the tundra in Tibet after an avalanche on Tuesday (Image: CCTV)

An avalanche has buried vehicles outside a motorway tunnel with the death toll rising to 20 and eight people still missing.

Images from the scene at the exit of a tunnel connecting the city of Nyingchi in Tibet's southwest with an outlying county showed about half a dozen backhoes digging through deep snow.

Reports said around 1,000 rescuers had joined the effort as more bodies were found on Friday.

Tons of snow and ice collapsed onto the mouth of the tunnel on Tuesday evening, trapping drivers in their vehicles.

A number of cars were overturned by the avalanche, a local resident involved in the rescue told local media.

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Many of the people were headed home for China's Lunar New Year holiday that starts Sunday.

Vehicles, like this bus, were overturned and buried beneath several feet of hard, compact snowfall (CCTV)

Speaking with Hongxin news, a woman said her husband - who had been heading to the airport to join her for Lunar New Year celebrations - was still missing.

The full death and injury toll is still to be confirmed but state-run Global Times claimed 53 people have been rescued as of Friday afternoon.

Five of the mountaineers injured were in a serious condition, the broadcaster added.

The victims were mostly Tibetans heading back to their rural homes for the start of the Lunar New Year on Sunday, reports say (CCTV)

A local villager told Global Times that most of those travelling on the road at the time of the accident were Tibetans.

A health centre worker added: “The snow was so deep it was as high as to people’s waist, and the road is very slippery. Many rescue workers stumbled all the way there."

Nyingchi - a popular travel destination - lies at an elevation of nearly 10,000 feet, about five hours drive from the regional capital Lhasa along a highway that opened in 2018.

Local media say that more than 50 people have been rescued so far, a number of them in critical condition (CCTV)

Avalanches are not uncommon in the Himalayas which encompass Tibet. In October, 26 people were killed when snow trapped a mountaineering expedition on Mount Draupadi ka Danda-II, which crosses India's northern Uttarakhand state.

Earlier this month, a Brit woman was killed on Mont Blanc when an avalanche buried her beneath a slab of snow.

The 45-year-old, who has not been named, was hiking in the French Alps on Janury 13.

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Skiers and holiday makers were urged to take considerable care if heading to the alps, as they have been warned that the " avalanche hazard is going to increase dramatically".

Avalanches are not uncommon in Tibet, the autonomous region in western China (CCTV)

On January 13, the woman was hiking atop the mountain range in the Mont Blanc massif in the Chamonix valley with her partner and a guide when tragedy struck.

The other two people were involved in the incident, but were unharmed as the avalanche was triggered around 5.30pm.

Sadly, the woman died after being buried under a slab of snow.

Despite intervention from the emergency services, “the person unfortunately died” according to the mountain police.

An investigation is underway following the incident, and an autopsy has been requested by the judicial authorities.

Reportedly, a second avalanche was triggered the following day in a neighbouring ski area, and a search is now underway to find any possible victims.

Ryan Fahey