An avalanche in western China's snowbound Xinjiang region killed 14 people, state media reported on Wednesday, bringing the reported death toll from a fierce cold snap to at least 27.
The avalanche occurred Tuesday in Yili prefecture, an area along the border with Kazakhstan that is populated by large numbers of ethnic Kazakhs, China Radio International said.
It gave no other details.
The news comes after the nation's media earlier this week reported 13 people had died in Xinjiang from the worst snowstorms in six decades. Twelve of those had perished in avalanches.
China has endured an unusually harsh winter, reaching its height since January 1 with heavy snow across vast parts of the country's north and west, but Xinjiang has suffered the hardest from a series of Siberian blizzards.
Thousands have been left homeless after the heavy snows led houses to collapse while thousands of livestock have died from exposure or starvation after grazing fields were buried in snow, reports have said.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
