As of Wednesday night, eight people have been confirmed dead after an avalanche took place on Tuesday in the city of Nyingchi in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

At approximately 7: 50 p.m. on Tuesday, the public security bureau in Nyingchi's Medog County received calls about an avalanche at an exit of a tunnel on the highway connecting Medog with Pad Township in Nyingchi's Mainling County, trapping people and vehicles, Nyingchi municipal authorities said on Wednesday.

A search and rescue operation for the missing is underway.