Quake-hit China-Nepal highway cleared

Rescuers celebrate after they cleared a blocked highway linking Tibet and Nepal in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, May 1, 2015. The Chinese side of a key highway linking Tibet and Nepal was cleared of obstructions on Friday morning, six days after an 8.1-magnitude earthquake in Nepal caused landslides that blocked the major trade and tourist route. (Xinhua/Chogo)

NYALAM, May 1 -- The Chinese side of a pivotal highway linking Tibet and Nepal was cleared of obstructions Friday, six days after an 8.1-Magnitude earthquake in Nepal caused landslides that blocked the road.

The last of the landslide debris was cleared at a section between Zham Town and the China-Nepal border Friendship Bridge at around midday, said Song Xiaodong, an armed police officer who led 165 soldiers to join the road work with local workers.

He said most of the workers toiled from 6 a.m. till midnight, hoping to reopen the road as soon as possible in order to accelerate rescue work and delivery of relief supplies.

The quake that shook Nepal on Saturday has claimed more than 6,000 lives in the Himalayan country. In southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, the tremor took 25 tolls, devastated two major border towns and caused landslides and avalanches that blocked local roads.

When Xinhua reporters trekked into Zham town on Sunday, they saw the 3-km road from Nyalam county seat to Zham town was blocked with huge rocks, tree trunks and sludge that were washed down in more than 30 landslides and mud-flows.

Road work in Tibet began immediately after the quake.

On Thursday, traffic resumed on the highway between Nyalam County and Zham Town, part of the China-Nepal highway, allowing residents to be evacuated from the town, which was threatened by constant aftershocks and landslides.

The China-Nepal highway is a scenic route connecting Tibet's capital Lhasa and Kathmandu, capital of Nepal. It was built in 1965.