A herdsman was confirmed dead on Monday in Tibet's Cona County, as snowstorms hit the eastern part of the autonomous region from Sunday.

The man was killed when a barn collapsed on him under the weight of the snow, according to Cona County Party Committee.

Five herdsmen who were trapped on Monday in snowstorms in the county had been saved at about 8:00 PM on Tuesday after nearly 30 hours' search. One of them was in a semi-coma when he was found. All the five were sent to a local hospital immediately and are now in good condition.

However, a 73-year-old woman, unnamed, remained missing. She was last seen when she was stranded by snowstorms on the road from Bomi County to Medog County on Monday.

Cona County and Bomi County are still suffering from blackout since Monday. Qamdo Airport, the world's highest airport, remains closed from late Sunday.

Tibet Autonomous Regional Weather Observatory claimed the snowstorm was recorded to be the heaviest in the region's weather records, with Cona County reporting drifts of 64 cm.

Armed policemen and transportation officials are working around the clock to reopen the many roads blocked by heavy snow on the plateau, local officials said.

They have cleared nearly 30,000 cubic meters of snow, stone and mud on the Sichuan-Tibet road, an arterial route linking the plateau to the rest of the country. The road is still being worked on to get off the last block in Ra'og County.

The roads to Zayu County, which was previously isolated, are also expected to be through in one day.

The observatory noted that the snowstorm will trail off in 24 hours, and the next major hurdle may be the freezing weather.

Ren Hongtu, an official with the relief operation section of the region's Civil Affairs Bureau, said relief materials including tents, cotton quilts, cotton clothing and food have already been sent to the snowstorm areas.

"The local departments were told to do a good job of storing up materials and transferring them timely so that they could reach victims once disasters do occur," said Ren.

According to Ren, the Tibet government has allocated 9.2 million yuan (about US$1.31 million) as emergency relief fund for survivors in October 6 quake with Damxung County, 82 km north of Lhasa as its epicenter. The 6.6-magnitude quake has killed 10 people and injured 54 others.

(Xinhua News Agency October 30, 2008)