Mudslide Leaves 3 Dead, 265 Missing in Xizang As Search Continues

A mudslide in Nepal caused heavy casualties at Gyirong Port in southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region yesterday morning, prompting authorities to mobilize emergency power supplies and rescue teams, Xinhua news agency reported today.

Gyirong Port, located in Gyirong Town, Gyirong County of Xigaze City, is a major land crossing between China and Nepal. Initial estimates showed that three people had died and 265 remained missing at the port as of 8pm yesterday following the mudslide in Nepal.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out efforts to search and rescue people who are missing.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, called for efforts to evacuate residents at risk and provide timely medical treatment to the injured to minimize casualties.

A Y-20 transport aircraft from the Western Theater Command Air Force took off yesterday, carrying a command team to coordinate military-led rescue operations, China Central Television reported.

State Grid Xizang Electric Power Company Limited deployed emergency personnel and equipment to Gyirong Town following the disaster. By 4am today, 85 emergency repair workers, seven power-generation vehicles, two generators and 19 sets of lighting equipment had arrived at the site.

The company said another 30 personnel, five power-generation vehicles, 42 generators and 18 sets of lighting equipment were being sent from nearby areas to support disaster-relief operations.

It said it would continue reinforcing emergency response teams, deploying supplies and equipment, and adjusting power supply plans to ensure electricity for rescue and relief work.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Emergency Management and the National Fire and Rescue Administration dispatched 111 firefighters and members of the China Search and Rescue team to the disaster-hit area.

The first chartered flight carrying members of the rescue team arrived at an airport in Xigaze early this morning.

The death toll from flash floods in northern Nepal has risen to 157, Nepal police confirmed today. According to the Nepalese Prime Minister's Office, 484 tourists were unaccounted for as of yesterday evening, including 391 foreign nationals.