Nine people have died in the worst snowstorm in Tibet Autonomous Region and the majority of the stranded herdsmen have been evacuated, local governments said on Friday.

As of Friday afternoon, nine in Lhunze and Cuona, the two hardest-hit counties, have died in the snowstorm which hit the region from Sunday to Tuesday, official sources with the two counties said.

Among the 2,158 known stranded, 1,892 have been rescued and evacuated to safe areas, the sources said. The stranded were mostly herders.

Soldiers, government staff and other rescuers were still struggling to evacuate the remaining trapped people.

Lhunze had 36 consecutive hours of snowfall from Sunday, with an average snow coverage of 1.5 meters.

Local meteorologists said the snowstorm was rare in history for the region.

(Xinhua News Agency November 2, 2008)