Search and rescue works for the tragic avalanche in Nyingchi of Southwest China's Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region are still underway, as more emergency personnel and volunteers arrived at the scene on Thursday and struggled to find more survivors under the heavy snow. A local government official told media on Thursday that they have so far found 53 survivors, five of whom are seriously injured.

The screenshot of a video on January 18, 2023 shows rescuers at the scene of the avalanche in Nyingchi of Southwest China's Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region. Photo: VCG

Eight people have been found dead as of press time, some killed due to loss of oxygen and some hypothermia, local rescuers said.

The avalanche happened on a section of road between Pai village in Mainling county and the exit of the Doxong La tunnel in Medog county at around 7 pm on Tuesday, with people and vehicles stranded, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

A staffer at the emergency management bureau of Nyingchi said on Thursday morning that rescue forces have increased to about 1,000 rescuers and 30 large rescue machineries.

Rescue workers told reporters in the early morning of Thursday that they saw vehicles crushed at the avalanche site, and according to a resident from Pai village, the incident occurred some 10 kilometers from the village, "which is one of the only two roads leading to Medog county. Most of those on the road are people returning to their hometowns or people doing business, mostly local Tibetans," the villager said.

"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," a township health center employee told media on Thursday.

Some searched for 12 vehicles to find a survivor, China News reported. "His car overturned and his ribs were injured. He was still conscious when we dug him out, and he should be among those lucky ones," said the heath center staff member.

China's Ministry of Emergency Management has sent a working group to Xizang on Wednesday evening.

Due to the significant precipitation in the high-altitude mountainous areas of Nyingchi which triggered multiple avalanches along highways, Nyingchi on Wednesday initiated a level-III natural disaster emergency response, read a notice released by the municipal government.