West News Wire: After an avalanche in Tibet buried vehicles outside of a highway tunnel, more remains were discovered on Friday, bringing the death toll to 28, according to CCTV, the Chinese state broadcaster.
Images from the scene at the tunnel’s mouth between the southwest Tibetan city of Nyingchi and a nearby county showed a group of approximately six backhoes working through several feet of snow. According to reports, 1,000 rescuers had volunteered to help.
On Tuesday night, the mouth of the tunnel was covered with tons of snow and ice, trapping people inside their cars.
For the Lunar New Year vacation in China, which begins on Sunday, many of the travelers were returning home.
Nearly 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) above sea level, Nyingchi is located approximately five hours’ drive from the region’s capital, Lhasa, along a highway that opened in 2018.
