Beijing: At least eight people have died after cars got trapped in an avalanche outside a highway tunnel in Tibet. On Tuesday evening, a tunnel connecting the southwest Tibetan city of Nyingchi to remote Medog county collapsed due to falling snow and ice.

Although it was not immediately clear how many people were still missing, officials said on Wednesday night that search and rescue operations were still ongoing. The central government's Ministry of Emergency Management also sent a team to help, bringing the total number of rescuers and emergency vehicles to 131.

A highway opened in 2018 connects Nyingchi, at an altitude of about 3,040 meters (9,974 ft), to the regional capital Lhasa in about five hours. Winter nights often see very low temperatures

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