Road access to Xizang's core disaster zone opened, rescue intensifies

Twenty-one people have been confirmed dead and 541 others remain missing as of Wednesday noon after a mudslide struck Gyirong Port on the China-Nepal border in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region on August 26, local authorities said at a press conference on Wednesday.

At the press conference, local authorities briefed the media on the latest progress in search and rescue efforts, road restoration, assistance for affected families and residents, and measures to prevent secondary disasters.

All-out search efforts for the missing Authorities have made every effort to search for the missing people.

Before road access was restored, search and rescue operations were carried out simultaneously by water, air and land.

By water, rescue teams used assault boats, inflatable boats and other means to reach the core area.

By air, helicopters made 24 sorties to deliver rescue personnel, supplies and equipment to the area.

By land, rescue teams traveled for more than 12 hours along mountain roads to reach the core area.

So far, more than 2,300 rescue personnel have been deployed, along with more than 400 vehicle sorties, over 8,000 sets of search and rescue equipment and more than 800 drone sorties.

A total of 5.43 tonnes of supplies and equipment have been air-dropped.

Four lighting units, one low-voltage power-generating vehicle and one mobile charging unit have been deployed in the core area, while communications have been restored at 12 base stations, providing strong support for search and rescue operations.

Since the disaster occurred, a total of 336 personnel have participated in multiple rounds of grid-based and intensive searches in the core area, covering a cumulative area of 1.591 million square meters.

Since road access was restored, more than 10 pieces of machinery and equipment have entered the core area to continue search and rescue operations.

Reopening road access to core disaster area Restoring the land rescue route has been an important prerequisite for sustained search and rescue operations.

The disaster destroyed all roads within three kilometers of the border port.