Rescue efforts intensify after road access to Xizang's core disaster zone restored

Rescue and relief efforts continue at Gyirong Port in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region following the massive mudslide originating in Nepal. The reopening of National Highway G216 has allowed heavy machinery and additional rescue teams to reach the disaster site, giving a major boost to search and rescue operations.

A fast-moving chain mudslide, which authorities said was triggered by a high-altitude glacier collapse in Nepal, struck Gyirong Port on the China-Nepal border on August 26. Twenty-one people had been confirmed dead, and 541 others remained missing as of noon on September 2, according to the regional government's latest update on Wednesday evening.

Clearing road access to core disaster area

Restoring the land rescue route has been an important prerequisite for sustained search and rescue operations.

The disaster destroyed all roads within three kilometers of the border port. Rescue and construction teams have faced a series of challenges, including narrow working areas, rapidly rising river levels, strong currents, thick deposits of mud, unstable slopes along the roads, and secondary disasters triggered by continued rainfall.

As of 10 a.m. on Wednesday, the road access to the core area of Gyirong Port was basically restored. Rescue personnel, supplies and some equipment have since entered the core area through the restored land route, allowing deeper search and rescue operations to proceed.

All-out search efforts for the missing

Authorities have made every effort to search for the missing people.

So far, more than 2,300 rescue personnel have been deployed, along with more than 400 vehicle sorties, over 8,000 sets of search and rescue equipment, and more than 800 drone sorties. A total of 5.43 tonnes of supplies and equipment have been air-dropped. Four lighting units, one low-voltage power-generating vehicle and one mobile charging unit have been deployed in the core area. Meanwhile, communications have been restored at 12 base stations, providing strong support for search and rescue operations.

Since the disaster occurred, a total of 336 personnel have participated in multiple rounds of grid-based and intensive searches in the core area, covering a cumulative area of 1.591 million square meters.

Meanwhile, more than 10 pieces of machinery and equipment have entered the core area to continue search and rescue operations since road access was restored.

China, Nepal enhance cooperation

China dispatched a third batch of emergency relief supplies to Nepal on Thursday morning, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The supplies include tents, blankets, morgue freezers, medical protective clothing and satellite communications equipment.

Meanwhile, a second group of DNA identification experts departed for Nepal on the same flight to assist the Nepali side in relevant work.

According to Nepalese authorities on Thursday, the death toll from the massive mudslide had risen to 1,252, with 4,875 people still missing as of 10 a.m. local time.

In addition, as many as nine Chinese tunnel rescue experts arrived in Trishuli, Nepal, on Tuesday to work with Nepali military and rescuers at a tunnel severely affected by the mudslide.

Meticulous efforts made to assist affected families and residents

After the disaster, authorities proactively contacted the relatives of the missing and deceased, responded promptly to their concerns, and provided humanitarian assistance, emotional support, and psychological counseling.

A service hotline for the relatives of missing people in China and abroad was also promptly established. As of noon on Wednesday, the hotline had received 876 calls from family members of the missing, including 448 from within China and 428 from overseas.

A total of 587 family members of 253 missing people have been received and provided with accommodation and assistance.

The authorities have also provided medical care, basic living assistance and psychological support to 499 relocated residents.

Comprehensive measures taken to prevent secondary disasters

Authorities have organized a team of 93 experts and technical personnel from relevant fields across the country to continuously monitor potential secondary geological disasters, including collapses, landslides and mudslides, in the barrier lake area and the source region of the ice-rock avalanche. They have also conducted inspections for geological hazards along roads leading to the border port.

Close attention has been paid to changes in precipitation, temperature and water levels in the Puruo Puzangbu, Donglin Zangbu and Gyirong Zangbu river basins, which are closely related to emergency response and rescue operations, to ensure the safety of rescue efforts downstream.

The barrier lake above mudslide-hit Gyirong Port was largely drained by Sunday, and the small bodies of water formed by the impact of the ice-rock avalanche have also been drained.

Authorities are now coordinating resources and strengthening emergency response efforts. A total of 150 pieces or sets of specialized equipment have been deployed, including 104 sets of multi-factor monitoring equipment such as slope-monitoring radar, integrated radar-vision video monitoring systems, drone aerial survey equipment, mud and water-level monitoring devices, and meteorological monitoring equipment.

Through a combination of technology-based monitoring and on-the-ground patrols, authorities are closely monitoring the potential impact of secondary mudslides in the ice-rock avalanche area on downstream areas amid continued rainfall, high temperatures and other factors.

Read more:

Explainer: Why is the Gyirong mudslide so sudden and destructive?

Glaciers: From victims to sources of disaster