Police name west China man who froze to death

Police said Diersi Bazar Khan, 21, a Kazakh villager of Toli county, Tacheng region, was found dead in heavy snow at 8 p.m. Sunday.

He had last been seen with a friend at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Police were informed on his death at 11 a.m. Monday and an investigation showed he had frozen to death.

Police are still investigating the death of another person in Xinjiang last week, but no details are available.

Temperatures plummeted to minus 23 degrees Celsius at the weekend in Xinjiang, China's Central Meteorological Station (CMS) said.

A total of 261,800 people in 12 counties or cities were affected by heavy snow in Xinjiang's Tacheng and Altay regions since Jan. 1, which resulted in blackouts and transport disruption.

About 5,435 people were evacuated and 799 houses were flattened, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs Saturday.