KATHMANDU, Aug 26: Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out search and rescue efforts after a mudslide hit the Gyirong border port in southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region on Wednesday morning, following a devastating flash flood in Nepal’s Rasuwa district that caused heavy loss of life and extensive damage to property and infrastructure on both sides of the border.
The Chinese government has mobilized emergency response agencies for search, rescue and relief operations following the disaster along the China-Nepal border.
Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing has reached Kerung, near the Nepal-China border, to inspect the damage and oversee China’s rescue and disaster response efforts. Zhang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, arrived with relevant government officials to provide guidance to the ongoing operations.
According to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency, Xi directed authorities to make every effort to locate and rescue missing people, treat the injured and minimize casualties and property losses. He also called for strengthened monitoring, early warning and emergency response measures to prevent secondary disasters.
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The mudslide affected the area around Gyirong Port, known as Rasuwagadhi on the Nepali side, a major crossing point between Nepal and China. The disaster disrupted a road leading to the port, while drone footage showed that several buildings at the port had been buried under debris.
China has deployed 145 personnel from the Xigaze detachment of the People’s Armed Police to the affected border area to assist with emergency response operations, according to the Global Times.
The deployment comes as rescue efforts continue on the Nepali side, where a sudden flash flood in the Bhote Koshi River devastated parts of Rasuwa early Wednesday.
At least eight people have been confirmed dead in Rasuwa, while several others remain missing. Officials have warned that the number of casualties could rise as rescue teams face difficulties reaching some of the worst-affected areas.
The flood swept through Timure and surrounding areas, destroying homes, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects and other infrastructure. Security personnel have been mobilized for search and rescue, while helicopters have also been deployed. However, high water levels and difficult terrain have hampered aerial rescue operations in some areas.
The disaster has also severely disrupted the Tatopani-Rasuwagadhi corridor, one of Nepal’s key trade routes with China. Damage to roads, bridges and border infrastructure could further affect the movement of goods between the two countries.
The Energy Ministry has estimated that around 430 MW of electricity generation capacity has been affected by the disaster, according to Reuters. The affected capacity represents more than 12 percent of Nepal’s total installed hydropower capacity.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah has directed security agencies and other government bodies to intensify search, rescue and relief operations. Authorities have also urged people living along the Bhote Koshi and downstream river corridors to move to safer locations amid the continuing risk of flooding.
The disaster has also raised concerns over the safety of hundreds of people stranded along the border trade route. The Nepal Tourism Board said at least 291 foreign nationals, including 105 Indian tourists, have been reported missing following the disaster.
The full scale of the damage and casualties remains unclear as communication and road links to the affected areas have been disrupted.
The latest disaster comes just over a year after a major flood in the same border region killed at least nine people in Nepal and left more than 20 missing. The earlier disaster swept away the Friendship Bridge and damaged hydropower infrastructure and was linked to the sudden drainage of a supraglacial lake in Tibet.
