The search efforts for seven migrant workers who went missing in an avalanche on Monday in Tibet were hindered by continuous snowfall in the area, local government said Saturday.

The search area has been reduced to an area of 0.6 square km, but continual snowy weather and steep geological condition made it impossible for rescuers to approach the core area, the Bomi county government said.

The seven people were part of a 29-member group from the neighboring Sichuan Province heading toward Tibet's Medog County through Bomi County on foot as there is no road access. They were about 20 meters from the Gawalong mountain peak when they got caught in the avalanche.

Fourteen of the 29 were buried initially and seven managed to free themselves. The other seven remained missing. The local government identified the missing as from Suining and Mianyang cities of Sichuan.

"The snow drift at the Gawalong Mountain was as deep as three meters and further avalanches are possible to happen at any time," a rescuer said.

The survival chance of the missing is slim, according to rescuers.

(Xinhua News Agency December 8, 2007)