Rescuers trudged through rugged territory and fought freezing temperatures on Sunday as they continued to search for ten people who were swept away by an avalanche in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region three days ago.

Rescuers have used excavators and other heavy machinery to help evacuate 138 people trapped by the avalanche on a mountain road that links Pome County and Metok County in Nyingchi Prefecture, according to Wu Shengbing, an official in charge of the armed police rescue team.

The victims were mainly local residents. A construction crew that was working on the unfinished road were also trapped, Wu said.

Wu said that those injured by the avalanche had been hospitalized. There have been no reports of serious injuries.

Heavy snows have been hitting parts of Tibet since last weekend, trapping vehicles and pedestrians. Traffic on Tibet's Sichuan-Tibet Highway, which leads to neighboring Sichuan Province, did not resume until Saturday.