Heavy rain triggered a landslide in Tibet early on Friday, causing a collapse on the China-Nepal Highway and stranding more than 1,000 people.

A 110-meter section of the road, about 2 km from the Zham Port, was destroyed after the landslide on the southern face of the Himalayas.

The incident affected 400 vehicles and more than 1,000 people.

Nearly 100 police were dispatched to repair the destroyed highway. They have cleared 10,000 cubic meters of debris, but their efforts are being hampered by rain and fuel shortages, police said.

Experts said the geological structure of the southern face of the Himalayas is fragile and prone to landslides during the rainy season, which runs from May to September in the region.

The 827-km China-Nepal Highway, linking Lhasa and the Friendship Bridge at the border, is a key commercial link between China and countries to the south. The Zham Port, the largest in Tibet, handles more than 70 percent of the region's imports and exports.

(Xinhua News Agency July 26, 2008)