China says 16 dead, 546 missing in Tibet mudslide: State media
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Figures from Nepal and from Chinese authorities in charge of Tibet put the total number of missing close to 3,000, with 691 bodies recovered.
PHOTO: AFP
- A mudslide in Tibet caused 16 deaths and 546 people remain missing, including 261 foreign nationals from various countries.
- The disaster was triggered by a glacier fracture on Lirung Peak in Nepal, causing an ice-rock avalanche on August 26.
- Chinese authorities have informed foreign embassies and confirmed no tourists are stranded in the affected Gyirong county after thorough checks.
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BEIJING - China said the death toll from a mudslide that struck Tibet rose to 16 and 546 people were still missing, state media reported on Aug 30, citing local officials.
A devastating, tsunami-like wall of water tore through the border region between Nepal and Tibet this week, sweeping away entire villages.
Chinese authorities increased the death toll on their side of the border from seven to 16 on Aug 30 and said 546 people were still missing, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Of those missing, 261 were foreign nationals, CCTV said, including 104 from Nepal, 49 from India, 33 from Latvia, and 18 from the United States.
No Singaporeans have been listed missing from the Chinese list for now.
“Chinese authorities have notified the respective embassies and consulates of these countries in China,” CCTV said, citing officials.
“Following multiple rounds of comprehensive region-wide surveys, site-specific checks, and individual verifications at the border crossing”, there are no foreign tourists stranded in Gyirong county, CCTV added, referring to the county in Tibet hit by the mudslide.
The nationality breakdown was the first from the Chinese side since the collapse of a glacier on Aug 26 unleashed a torrent of ice, rock, mud and debris down Himalayan rivers.
In Nepal, the disaster authority said at least 675 people were killed on its side of the border, 2,498 are missing and 7,514 have been rescued.
Local police told Reuters that residents and rescue workers have moved to higher ground after the water level in the nearby Trishuli River rose over the past few hours, underscoring the risk of further flooding even as rescue efforts continue.
Chinese officials also identified on Aug 30 the cause of the disaster.
Experts “concluded that at approximately 10.52am (Beijing time) on Aug 26, a glacier on the southern slope of Lirung Peak in Nepal” fractured, triggering an ice-rock avalanche, Xinhua news agency said.
It took six to seven minutes for the mudslide from the Nepalese side to reach the Gyirong border crossing, CCTV reported, citing the findings of Chinese scientists.
Surveillance footage from the crossing showed torrents of water and debris engulfing buildings while people tried to flee.
China has mobilised over 2,100 emergency rescue workers and allocated at least 220 million yuan (S$41.69 million) to support relief efforts.
It is also providing emergency cash aid, disaster relief supplies, satellite and hydrological data and tunnel rescue experts to Nepal, the state broadcaster said.
The countries are working together to identify missing citizens and foreign nationals, as well as strengthening cooperation in disaster prevention and mitigation, and climate-change response, CCTV reported.
More than 90,000 people are likely to have been affected by the disaster, the Red Cross estimated. AFP, REUTERS
