One villager was killed and nine others were seriously injured when a super avalanche attacked a village of Bomi County in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Wednesday, according to sources with the Chinese People's Armed Police (PAP).

Rescuers are searching for seven villagers who went missing in the disaster.

Triggered by torrential rains and ice and snow thawing, the disaster occurred abruptly at about 9:00 a.m. near the Bitong village, 53 km from the county seat of Bomi, resulting in serious mud-rock flow, sources said. The mud-rock flow destroyed a 850-meter section of the highway linking Tibet and Sichuan Province.

Continuous rains and snow-melting also aggravated mud-rock flows in the disaster area and hampered rescue operations, according to the sources.

Upon learning about the disaster, the communication corps of the PAP dispatched its men and equipment to the site for emergency rescue.

The PAP members have been fighting the torrential mud-rock flow, repairing road, and searching for trapped villagers and evacuating them to safe places.

The cut-off traffic is expected to be resumed on September 7.

Bomi, with an average altitude of 4,200 meters, is situated in eastern Tibet.

(Xinhua News Agency September 6, 2007)