31 dead, 531 missing after mudslide hits border port in China's Xizang

GYIRONG, XIZANG: Thirty-one people have been confirmed dead and 531 others remain missing as of 6:00 pm on Friday after a mudslide struck Gyirong Port on the Nepal-China border in south-west China's Xizang Autonomous Region on August 26, according to the local emergency response and rescue command centre.

Rescuers have recovered 987 pieces of personal belongings in the area.

As of Wednesday, inspections along the G216 rescue route had identified 58 potential geological disaster sites, officials at the centre said.

Authorities have also completed inspections and risk assessments of potential hazards in three affected villages, selected sites for two temporary emergency shelters, and guided the construction of emergency evacuation facilities.

To identify and prevent risks of potential secondary disasters, 172 experts and technical personnel from meteorological, natural resources, water resources and emergency management authorities, as well as the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China Academy of Safety Science and Technology, have been operating at the site as of 4pm on Wednesday.

Caused by an ice‑rock avalanche in Nepal, the deadly mudslide swept through Gyirong Port and destroyed buildings, power supplies and a section of the G216 highway leading to Gyirong Port, which seriously hampered emergency response and rescue efforts.

Despite such difficulties, China immediately mobilised helicopters, speedboats and rubber rafts to carry rescuers to the mudslide‑hit port. Ground rescue teams spent 12 hours traversing steep mountain roads and reached the area on foot.

Some 2,300 rescue personnel, more than 400 search‑and‑rescue vehicles, over 8,000 sets of professional equipment, over 800 drone flights and 24 helicopter flights have been deployed to the area.

By RSS/Xinhua