BEIJING, Sept. 6 (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:
-- Thirty-one people had been confirmed dead and 531 others remained missing as of 6 p.m. Friday.
-- After the land route to Gyirong Port was basically restored on Wednesday morning, large machinery has been used to clear obstacles and create working areas, followed closely by specialized firefighters conducting targeted searches and life-detection equipment verifying suspicious locations.
-- More rescue forces entered the core affected zone of Gyirong Port on Saturday. China Railway Group Limited has provided steel gabions for road reinforcement at the site.
-- The barrier lake above the core area of Gyirong Port has been drained, the river channel has returned to normal flow, and the associated hazard has been largely eliminated.
-- With support from China's National Health Commission and authorities in other regions, more than 210 psychological professionals arrived in Gyirong in three batches. Some counselors with foreign-language skills provided psychological support for families of foreign nationals reported missing in the disaster.
Specialists also assessed the psychological well-being of frontline rescuers, providing group counseling and individual support.
-- Local authorities have organized Tibetan medicine doctors to provide medical treatment and psychological counseling services to resettled residents. ■
