Rescue Operation Called Off Amid Snow Slip In Tibet  

A rescue operation to find people trapped in a snow slip on a Tibetan highway has now ended.

Report says at least 28 people have been killed.

People were left trapped in their vehicles as falling snow engulfed the exit of a tunnel in the south-eastern city of Nyingchi on Tuesday evening.

Local rescuers said the snow slip was “triggered by powerful winds.”

It is not known how many people are still missing.

However, 53 survivors were found, five of whom were seriously injured, according to a local government official.

Meanwhile, local authorities sent 1,348 rescue workers and 236 pieces of equipment to help excavate a passage of 7.5km.

The snow slip covered a highway that connects the town of Pai in Mainling county and Medog county in Tibet, a remote and mainly Buddhist region in western China.

Report says the mountain has an altitude of nearly 4,500 metres, as well as steep slopes, and part of the road that runs along it is rugged.

The Himalayas are often hit by avalanches, as it is home to the world’s highest mountains.

At least 26 people died back in October after a mountaineering expedition was caught in a snow slip on Mount Draupadi ka Danda-II in India’s northern state of Uttarakhand.

BBC/Christopher Ojilere