BEIJING, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- A fast-moving chain mudslide, triggered by a high-altitude glacier collapse in Nepal, 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 all-out search and rescue operations. Here is what we know about the deadly mudslide and the latest progress in China:
-- Twenty-one people have been confirmed dead and 541 others remain missing after the mudslide struck the border port, according to the regional government's latest news briefing. An ice-rock avalanche originating from a high-mountain glacier in Nepal has been identified as the cause of the mudslide.
-- Power supply has been restored to the core area of the mudslide-hit Gyirong Port, the State Grid said.
-- After the land route along to Gyirong Port was basically restored on Wednesday morning, large machinery is being used to clear obstacles and create working areas, followed closely by specialized firefighters conducting targeted searches and life-detection equipment verifying suspicious locations.
-- More than 2,300 rescuers had been deployed. Multiple rounds of grid and blanket searches have been completed, covering a total area of about 1.59 million square meters.
-- In the core affected area, a cumulative total of 336 rescuers have conducted multiple rounds of exhaustive searches, ensuring thorough coverage of every section.
-- Rescuers are also collecting and registering all suspected personal belongings of the deceased and the missing to facilitate identification and handover. As of Wednesday noon, 847 items had been recovered.
-- The Ministry of Emergency Management, in coordination with the Ministry of Transport, has dispatched road-reinforcement and heavy-lift equipment to the site.
-- Central state-owned enterprises have mobilized personnel and machinery to the core area, working to secure power supply and support relief operations, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.
-- Another batch of Chinese relief supplies and DNA experts arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal, by air on Thursday, as part of Chinese aid efforts following the deadly mudslide. ■
