Road to Tibetan town isolated by earthquake now passable

Rescuers have cleared a highway leading to a Tibetan town where thousands of people were trapped following the 8.1-magnitude earthquake in Nepal Saturday.

Traffic resumed Tuesday afternoon on the 37-km highway leading to Zham Town in Nyalam County, Tibet Autonomous Region, allowing rescuers and relief materials to get to the hard-hit town on the Nepal border, according to the rescue headquarters.

About 6,000 residents in Zham have been struggling due to a shortage of food, water, medicine and tents after landslides blocked more than a dozen sections of the entry highway.

Eighty percent of the houses in the town have been damaged, displacing 3,500 residents. Officials said aftershocks, and rain and snow were now the main concern.

Li Dong, vice party secretary of Nyalam, said 15 seriously injured residents in the town were waiting for medical attention.

To regain access to the isolated town, more than 300 fire fighters, armed police and professional rescuers, as well as over 30 pieces of equipment, were mobilized to repair the highway.

The work, however, was hampered by the high altitude, complicated terrain, frequent aftershocks and weather, rescuers said.

"Rocks kept falling onto the road as we cleared the debris," police officer Luo Yongxiang said.

More than 4,000 people have been confirmed dead in Nepal after the quake struck the Nepal capital, which also claimed 25 lives in Tibet. Enditem