BEIJING, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- A fast-moving chain mudslide, triggered by a high-altitude glacier collapse on the Nepali side, struck Gyirong Port on the China-Nepal border in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region on Aug. 26, causing heavy casualties and leaving many missing.
Chinese rescuers immediately launched an all-out effort to reach the mudslide-hit port area and search for the missing. Here is what we know about the deadly mudslide and the latest rescue and relief progress there:
-- Sixteen people have been confirmed dead and 546 others remain missing as of 6 p.m. Saturday, according to the regional government.
-- A total of 261 foreign nationals from 23 countries have been identified as unaccounted for after the mudslide. The figure was announced on Sunday morning at a press conference held by the information office of the regional government, following a joint search and cross-checking of information by foreign affairs, public security, culture and tourism, and emergency management authorities.
-- During his phone conversation with Nepali Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal on Saturday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China attaches great importance to the disaster, which also caused heavy casualties and left many missing in Nepal. Wang said that while urgently carrying out rescue and relief efforts on its own side, China extended a helping hand at the earliest opportunity and supported Nepal in its emergency disaster relief efforts.
-- A total of 2,141 Chinese rescuers have joined the mission, according to the update by the region's emergency management department on early Saturday morning. Excavators were busy repairing a key road to facilitate entry into the port. A total length of 2.6 km of road section had been restored, leaving 1.7 kilometers to go before reaching Gyirong Port by around 1 p.m. Saturday.
-- All civilian vehicles and personnel are prohibited from traveling toward Gyirong Township, with immediate effect, according to a notice issued on Saturday by the local traffic police. The notice specified that only authorized special-purpose vehicles for emergency rescue, disaster relief, and material support are permitted to pass with valid permits. The restrictions will remain in place until further notice.
-- China's Ministry of Emergency Management on Saturday dispatched five Chinese tunnel experts to Nepal to support rescue efforts at a hydropower plant tunnel, at the request of the Nepali government.
-- Three sets of portable automatic weather stations have been deployed to provide targeted weather support for restoring road access, search and rescue operations, drone flights and surveying a barrier lake, the China Meteorological Administration said Saturday.
-- The National Cryosphere Desert Data Center has provided 53 service datasets, with a total data volume of roughly 85 GB, available for download and use by relevant emergency response, rescue and research institutions.
-- The National Earth Observation Data Center has compiled remote sensing data resources from civilian and commercial satellites, with a total data volume exceeding 20 GB. The data is provided to support post-disaster road damage assessment, building collapse identification, and secondary disaster monitoring. ■
