Rescuers Race Against Time After Mudslide Hits Xizang Border Port

Rescue operations intensified on Friday at the mudslide-hit Gyirong Port in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, with teams working against the clock to locate survivors. The mudslide, which originated on the Nepalese side, struck the port on Wednesday morning, leaving five people dead and 558 missing as of 3 p.m. Friday, according to the regional emergency management department. Among the missing, 260 have been identified as foreign nationals.

A large-scale response has been mobilized to the remote mountainous area. As of 10 a.m. Friday, 681 fire and rescue personnel and 113 vehicles had arrived, along with 6,612 pieces of rescue equipment and logistical supplies, the National Fire and Rescue Administration said. The first team of 141 rescuers and a high-altitude helicopter reached the port on Thursday morning, followed by 111 members of the China Search and Rescue team who arrived in Gyirong County later that day.

Rescuers have been split into three specialized teams: one navigating waterways by rubber boats, another trekking on foot through difficult terrain, and a third conducting aerial reconnaissance and supply drops using drones. An advance team has also been dispatched to the core disaster area to map the site and monitor the barrier lake with drones and telescopes.

Thirteen experts from the Shanghai Fire Research Institute of the Ministry of Emergency Management have joined the effort. China Anneng, a state-owned engineering and rescue enterprise, sent a 15-member team on Friday with reconnaissance drones, portable satellite stations, and mobile surveillance cameras to survey the blockage and surrounding roads, providing critical data for addressing the barrier lake.

Rescue personnel at the site noted that debris accumulated about 3 km upstream of the port can only be safely cleared once the risk posed by the blockage is resolved.