16 dead, 546 missing after mudslide hit border port in China's Xizang

Sixteen people have been confirmed dead, and 546 others remain missing as of 6 p.m. on Saturday after a mudslide struck Gyirong Port on the China-Nepal border in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region on August 26, according to the regional government.

The figure was announced at a press conference held by the regional government's information office, following a joint search and cross-checking of information by the foreign affairs, public security, culture and tourism, and emergency management authorities.

Here is what we know about the deadly mudslide and the latest rescue and relief progress there:

261 foreign nationals unaccounted for

A total of 2,141 Chinese rescuers have joined the mission, according to the press conference.

The authorities said they have launched a comprehensive search involving multiple departments to trace those who remain unaccounted for.

The latest screening identified 261 missing foreign nationals from 23 countries.

Those unaccounted for include 104 people from Nepal, 49 from India, 33 from Latvia, 18 from the United States, 15 from Britain, six from Canada, six from Australia, four from South Africa, three from Malaysia, three from Germany, three from Russia, two from Ireland, two from Estonia, two from France, two from the Netherlands, two from New Zealand, and one each from Kazakhstan, Finland, Lithuania, Portugal, Ukraine, Spain and Hungary.

The Chinese authorities have notified the countries' embassies and consulates in China, according to the press conference.

After multiple rounds of searches, site inspections, and checks of individuals at the port, the authorities said no foreign tourists are currently stranded in Gyirong County.

China has also opened two 24-hour English-language hotlines for the families of the unaccounted-for foreign nationals: 0086-891-6817165 and 0086-18308026705.

Cause of disaster identified

The authorities said at the press conference that the cause of the disaster has now been identified as a glacier collapse and ice-rock avalanche on the southern slope of Lantang Lirung in Nepal, triggered by long-term glacier instability linked to climate warming.

Around 10:52 a.m. Beijing Time on August 26, a glacier at an altitude of about 5,200 meters collapsed, sending ice and rock rapidly down the mountainside. The resulting massive mudslide traveled about 22 kilometers before reaching Gyirong Port at an altitude of around 1,800 meters, according to an assessment by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment.

Monitoring data showed that the entire process, from the ice-rock avalanche to its impact on Gyirong Port, took only about six to seven minutes.

The mudslide flattened 27 buildings and related facilities across an area of about 0.7 square kilometers.

The mudslide's sudden onset, large flood peak, high speed and extensive destruction reflect the increasingly prominent new characteristics of cryosphere-related hazards on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and surrounding regions, as climate warming contributes to glacier instability, authorities said.

(With input from Xinhua)