Rescuers are racing against time and the odds in search of survivors after a devastating mudslide, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche in Nepal, hit the border port of Gyirong in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region.
According to a press conference held by the information office of the regional government on Sunday, the disaster, which occurred on Aug. 26, has claimed the lives of 16 and left 546 people missing as of 6 p.m. Saturday.
Despite difficulties such as high-altitude terrain, steep valleys and volatile weather, rescuers are pushing forward into the core disaster area, carrying out road mud removal, search and rescue operations, hazard identification, disinfection and epidemic prevention, as well as clearing and restoring damaged routes.
The conditions at the heart of the rescue area are especially tough. Rescuers there told Xinhua that the site was covered in mud and scattered rocks, with turbulent water currents. The mud was about one meter deep in some places, enough to sink in up to half a person's body, and even in shallower areas, the mud was generally above ankle level. Video footage showed that the Gyirong Port building was reduced to its steel frame.
On Sunday morning, the People's Liberation Army Xizang Military Command mobilized an epidemic prevention team to the disaster-hit area to carry out environmental disinfection, food and water quality testing, emergency vaccinations, and routine medical rounds for injuries and illnesses.
This relief mission also included psychological support personnel, who will regularly provide psychological counseling for rescuers and the disaster-affected local residents.
So far, a total of 2,141 personnel have joined search and rescue operations, including personnel from the People's Liberation Army, the People's Armed Police Force, and China Anneng. And 269 rescue vehicles and 3,922 sets of rescue equipment have also been dispatched to the front line.
Communications have been restored at the core rescue site, as successful phone calls have been made with rescuers at the port via a newly-built base station on Sunday, according to the regional communications administration.
The first emergency base station adjacent to the border gate of the Gyirong Port was put into operation at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. Up to now, telecom operators in Xizang have restored one damaged base station and built eight new ones near the port.
Rescuers with China Anneng are carrying out clearing and restoration operations on the damaged road sections, striving to restore the vital access route to Gyirong Port. They had pushed forward 285 meters on Sunday, leaving some 1.25 kilometers to go before reaching the port.
The barrier lake above the Gyirong Port has basically drained, forming a flowing state of the river channel, China's Ministry of Water Resources said Sunday, citing drone footage and panoramic images captured in the morning and reports from emergency response teams.
At the press conference, the regional government also noted that the mudslide was triggered by an ice-rock avalanche originating from a high-mountain glacier in Nepal.
A glacier on Mount Langtang Lirung in Nepal fractured at an altitude of about 5,200 meters, triggering the ice-rock avalanche. The avalanche plunged rapidly to an altitude of around 4,000 meters, scouring the mountainside and developing into a massive debris flow, which surged about 22 kilometers before reaching Gyirong Port at an altitude of around 1,800 meters.
The disaster flattened an area of about 0.7 square kilometers, destroying 27 buildings and related facilities in the port area.
