Heavy snowstorm kills 7 road workers in Altay

Seven people were found dead after going missing in a heavy snowstorm in Altay in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the local government said on Monday night.

On Saturday, the region's meteorological bureau issued its highest-level warning for extreme cold. It warned that heavy snowstorms would continue to lash northern Xinjiang, including Altay prefecture, and that there could be drops in temperature of as much as 30 C, to well below freezing in some areas.

At around 11 pm on Saturday, the city's emergency response center received a call saying that eight road construction workers had gone missing in extreme weather conditions, the Altay government said in a statement.