May 4, 2007

An avalanche killed 2  tourists and injured another 6, including 1 seriously, in Yubeng, Deqin of southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The avalanche occurred at about 3:00pm on Wednesday, May 2, near the Sacred Waterfall in Yubeng  of the Meili Snow Mountain Scenic Zone, about 10km northeast of Deqin County. Rescuers had to first carried the injured people to Yubeng village about two hours' walk from the spot to receive medical treatment, as there is no highway linking the spot with the county seat.

More than 300 people, including police officers, armed soldiers, medical workers and tourist officials, have been mobilized for the rescue operation.

The dead are a young Chinese couple who made the trip to celebrate their 7 years' wedding anniversary. On their way back from the Sacred Waterfall to the Yubeng village, they took off the wet shirts to dry in the sunshine when stopping for a rest. According to the local Tibetans, the young couple's behavior desecrates the God-blessed Holy Meili Snow Mountains...

(Picture source: www.auly.com)

Meili Snow Mountain, about 800km northwest of the Yunnan provincial capital of Kunming, is a well-known scenic spot that separates Yunnan from Tibet. It has 13 peaks whose average altitudes all exceed 6,000 meters, with the highest reaching 6,740meters...Web link:

Meili Snow Mountain   |   Meili Snow Mt. & Yubeng Trekking Guide