Heart-stopping moment tourists sprint to escape avalanche rolling towards them

12 March 2024 , 16:46

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Heart-stopping moment tourists sprint to escape avalanche rolling towards them

The extraordinary video captures a group of people making a run for their lives to escape a massive ball of snow at a popular tourist destination.

Smartphone footage recorded at the Kadinggou Scenic Spot in the city of Nyingchi, in China's Tibet Autonomous Region, showed the petrified tourists recording the surroundings on 8th March.

Just moments later, however, upon realising the imminent danger coming from an approaching ball of snow, they can be seen hastily fleeing to evade being struck. They were saved after the mound was blocked by the terrace's wooden fence, which was utterly destroyed in the incident.

Kadinggou Scenic Spot staff later reported that such incidents are common and occur every year. They added that nobody was injured at the time. The clip prompted many reactions on China's version of TikTok, Douyin, leaving users unable to hold back from commenting.

Tourists escape a mini avalanche in Tibet (AsiaWire)

Certain parts of Tibet are prone to avalanches (AsiaWire)

Doyuin user 'User 3089865496873' said: "Let me tell you something, frozen snow is like stone." Then user 'Dashun' commented: "Seeing how calm the old man was, it shouldn't be a big problem." And 'KrystorLi avatar' added: "The weather is getting warmer and the ice and snow are melting. Just pay attention to safety." The video has reached more than 4,300 likes and over 500 shares as of 12th March.

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In October last year, an American mountaineer and his sherpa died after a Tibetan avalanche. The tragedy followed an attempt to scale the world’s 14th-tallest peak Tibet’s Mount Shishapangma as two avalanches hit its slopes at around 26,000 feet. Chinese media said US traveller Anna Gutu, 32, and her guide, Mingmar Sherpa from Nepal, were reported missing. The pair were were later confirmed dead after being pulled out of the snow by rescuers.

American Gina Marie Rzucidlo, 45, and Nepalese Tenjen Sherpa, also vanished after the avalanches which have led to 120 deaths in the area over the past two years. They are still missing. They had been competing to become the first American women to traverse the true summits of a series of mountains in the Himalayas and neighboring Karakorams.

The peaks, including Shishapangma, are all considered 'death zones'. This is because beyond a certain point the amount of oxygen on the mountains are insufficient to stay alive. The Himalayan Times reported their bodies were recovered by a mountaineers on Sunday, but Rzucidlo and her guide, are still said to be missing after the avalanches.

Ryan Fahey