Rescuers from the Chinese People's Liberation Army work in a mudslide-hit area near Gyirong Port in Gyirong County, in Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, Aug. 28, 2026. The death toll had risen to five and 558 remained missing as of 3 p.m. on Friday after a mudslide struck the Gyirong Port along the China-Nepal border in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, according to the region's emergency management department.
Rescuers are operating around the clock in mudslide-affected areas near the Gyirong Port. (Photo by Liu Yuqin/Xinhua)
GYIRONG, Xizang, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- The death toll had risen to five and 558 remained missing as of 3 p.m. on Friday after a mudslide struck the Gyirong Port along the China-Nepal border in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, according to the region's emergency management department.
At about 4:30 p.m. on Friday, the first team of six members from the Xizang Fire and Rescue Corps and the first group of 15 members with a search dog from the Sichuan Fire and Rescue Corps arrived at the disaster-hit port. They were the first professional rescue teams to reach the core rescue area, the National Fire and Rescue Administration said.
As of 10 a.m. on Friday, a total of 681 fire and rescue personnel and 113 vehicles had arrived at the remote mountainous border area, while 6,612 pieces of rescue equipment and logistical supplies had been dispatched to the town of Gyirong, the administration noted.
According to border inspection authorities in Xizang, an emergency reinforcement team comprising 246 police personnel from Lhasa and Xigaze, the regional capital and the region's second-largest city, respectively, was immediately dispatched to Gyirong Town after Wednesday's deadly mudslide.
Among them were 190 police officers from Xigaze, who took with them more than 300 pieces of rescue equipment, including life detectors and manual breaking tools, to support on-site rescue operations.
A large amount of daily necessities, such as highland barley, rice, flour, drinking water, instant noodles, tents, folding beds, quilts, mattresses, blankets and raincoats have been delivered to the town, the region's emergency management department said.
China Anneng, a state-owned engineering and rescue enterprise, sent out a 15-member team on Friday equipped with reconnaissance drones, portable satellite stations and mobile surveillance cameras to conduct on-site surveys to provide accurate data aimed at boosting rescue efforts.
Rescuers on site say operations are extremely challenging due to looming secondary disasters, damaged road infrastructure and communications.
The meteorological department forecasts light to moderate rain or thunderstorms across most of Gyirong County from Wednesday night to Sunday. These downpours could trigger flash floods, mudslides and landslides in vulnerable areas, potentially disrupting rescue work.
The county authorities have also warned that a barrier lake, formed upstream of the port by the glacier collapse, sits in an unstable geological setting and could breach, endangering rescue operations downstream.
Local authorities said a road about three kilometers from the site was destroyed by the mudslide, delaying rescue access and slowing response efforts. Communications and power supply were also cut off, leaving the situation in the core area unknown for a time.
By Thursday afternoon, 499 people affected by the mudslide had been resettled and 555 stranded tourists had also been evacuated.
The mudslide was triggered by the collapse of glacier on the Nepalese side at a higher elevation, said Guo Zhaocheng, an expert with the Ministry of Natural Resources.
It is estimated to have traveled at about 50 meters per second, an extremely high speed leaving people with little time to react, while the affected area stretched more than 20 kilometers, resulting in severe losses, according to the expert. ■
Rescuers from the People's Armed Police Force carry out search and rescue work on a riverbank area 2.2 kilometers from the Gyirong Port in Gyirong County, in Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, Aug. 28, 2026. The death toll had risen to five and 558 remained missing as of 3 p.m. on Friday after a mudslide struck the Gyirong Port along the China-Nepal border in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, according to the region's emergency management department.
Rescuers are operating around the clock in mudslide-affected areas near the Gyirong Port. (Photo by Liu Shuang/Xinhua)
Rescuers from the People's Armed Police Force carry out search and rescue work on a riverbank area 2.2 kilometers from the Gyirong Port in Gyirong County, in Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, Aug. 28, 2026. The death toll had risen to five and 558 remained missing as of 3 p.m. on Friday after a mudslide struck the Gyirong Port along the China-Nepal border in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, according to the region's emergency management department.
Rescuers are operating around the clock in mudslide-affected areas near the Gyirong Port. (Photo by Liu Shuang/Xinhua)
Rescuers from the Chinese People's Liberation Army work in a mudslide-hit area near Gyirong Port in Gyirong County, in Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, Aug. 28, 2026. The death toll had risen to five and 558 remained missing as of 3 p.m. on Friday after a mudslide struck the Gyirong Port along the China-Nepal border in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, according to the region's emergency management department.
Rescuers are operating around the clock in mudslide-affected areas near the Gyirong Port. (Photo by Zheng Chongxi/Xinhua)
Rescuers from the Chinese People's Liberation Army are pictured on their way to the mudslide-hit area near Gyirong Port in Gyirong County, in Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, Aug. 28, 2026. The death toll had risen to five and 558 remained missing as of 3 p.m. on Friday after a mudslide struck the Gyirong Port along the China-Nepal border in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, according to the region's emergency management department.
Rescuers are operating around the clock in mudslide-affected areas near the Gyirong Port. (Photo by Zheng Chongxi/Xinhua)
Rescuers from the Chinese People's Liberation Army work in a mudslide-hit area near Gyirong Port in Gyirong County, in Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, Aug. 28, 2026. The death toll had risen to five and 558 remained missing as of 3 p.m. on Friday after a mudslide struck the Gyirong Port along the China-Nepal border in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, according to the region's emergency management department.
Rescuers are operating around the clock in mudslide-affected areas near the Gyirong Port. (Photo by Cui Yunhong/Xinhua)
Rescuers from the People's Armed Police Force carry out search and rescue work near Gyirong Port in Gyirong County, in Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, Aug. 28, 2026. The death toll had risen to five and 558 remained missing as of 3 p.m. on Friday after a mudslide struck the Gyirong Port along the China-Nepal border in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, according to the region's emergency management department.
Rescuers are operating around the clock in mudslide-affected areas near the Gyirong Port. (Photo by Sun Chongfeng/Xinhua)
Rescuers from the People's Armed Police Force carry out search and rescue work near Gyirong Port in Gyirong County, in Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, Aug. 28, 2026. The death toll had risen to five and 558 remained missing as of 3 p.m. on Friday after a mudslide struck the Gyirong Port along the China-Nepal border in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, according to the region's emergency management department.
Rescuers are operating around the clock in mudslide-affected areas near the Gyirong Port. (Photo by Sun Chongfeng/Xinhua)
Rescuers from the Chinese People's Liberation Army transfer inflatable rescue boats to the mudslide-hit area near Gyirong Port in Gyirong County, in Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, Aug. 28, 2026. The death toll had risen to five and 558 remained missing as of 3 p.m. on Friday after a mudslide struck the Gyirong Port along the China-Nepal border in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, according to the region's emergency management department.
Rescuers are operating around the clock in mudslide-affected areas near the Gyirong Port. (Photo by Zheng Chongxi/Xinhua)
