All the 22 herdsmen who got lost in a strong sandstorm on March 27 in Inner Mongolia were home after the last three missing from Sonid Left Banner were found on March 29.

In addition, more than 3,200 head of livestock have been found and another 1,900 have got lost or died, said an official of the disaster relief headquarters of the Xilin Gol League.

The sandstorm, which last about 16 hours and was claimed to be the most destructive over the past five years in the area by local meteorological bureau, has worsened the situation in Xilin Gol League in Inner Mongolia that was hit by an earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale last Wednesday.

The quake-affected areas were in bad need of tents as 80 percent of the 1,500 tents put up after the earthquake have been destroyed by the sandstorm, said the official.

The sandstorm also caused power failure and destroyed waterworks facilities at the Dong Ujimqin Banner, Xi Ujimqin Banner, Xilin Hot City and Ulgai development zone.

Starting from Saturday morning, the sandstorm swept from west to east through Xilin Gol League with the maximum speed reaching 28 meters per second, lowering the visibility below 10 meters.

(Xinhua News  Agency  March 30, 2004)