Workers drive bulldozers at the construction site of a highway in Taklimakan Desert, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, May 16, 2020. The construction of Yuli-Qiemo highway, the third north-south route running through Taklimakan Desert, has entered the final rush. Workers of China Communications Construction Company Ltd. are working on the largest dune in this project, with an estimated volume of 1.2 million cubic meters of sand to deal with.(Photo: Xinhua)

An exploration area of China's state-owned oil giant Sinopec in the country's largest desert Taklimakan Desert, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, was flooded by melting snow, Caixin reported over the weekend.

According to the screenshot of a video clip posted by Sinopec on the online video site Bilibili, several roads leading to the exploration area were flooded and wire poles damaged, causing huge impact on the area's production and exploration work. The video could not be found as of press time.

Sinopec's 30,000 sets of equipment and nearly 50 exploration vehicles were flooded, covering an area of more than 300 square kilometers, according to the Caixin report.

The ice and snow on Tian Shan Mountains continue to melt in summer, combined with rainfall, which is the main cause of the accident, the report said, citing a source familiar with the matter.

The Taklimakan Desert is located in the center of the Tarim Basin, south of the Tian Shan Mountains.

The oil field was flooded in mid-July, the rainfall stopped recently and the desert seeped water quickly. The flood subsided starting July 29, but there is still mud, the source said.

Sinopec Northwest Oilfield Co has reacted swiftly to combat the accident and normal production has resumed quickly, according to the source.

Snow melting is a common scene in southern Xinjiang each year, but the recent extreme weather of heavy rainfalls is rare. In this spring from March to May, extreme rainfall events occurred frequently, with an average rainfall of 8 percent higher than normal. June to July is the peak rainfall season in the area.