Snowstorm death toll rises to nine in Tibet
1/11/2008 11:26
NINE people have died in the worst snowstorm in Tibet Autonomous Region
and the majority of the stranded herdsmen have been evacuated, local governments
said yesterday.
As of last afternoon, nine in Lhunze and Cuona, the two
hardest-hit counties, have died in the snowstorm which hit the region from
Sunday to Tuesday, official sources with the two counties said.
Among
the 2,158 known stranded, 1,892 have been rescued and evacuated to safe areas,
the sources said. The stranded were mostly herders.
Soldiers, government
staff and other rescuers were still struggling to evacuate the remaining trapped
people.
Lhunze had 36 consecutive hours of snowfall from Sunday, with an
average snow coverage of 1.5 meters.
Local meteorologists said the
snowstorm was rare in history for the region.
|
