This photo taken on Aug. 26, 2026 shows an area near Gyirong Port in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. A mudslide struck near Gyirong Port in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region on Wednesday, with people feared missing, local authorities said. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out efforts to search and rescue people who are missing after a mudslide in Nepal caused casualties at Gyirong border port in Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region on Wednesday morning, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, called for efforts to evacuate residents at risk and provide timely medical treatment to the injured to minimize casualties, Xinhua reported. 

He made the instructions after a mudslide occurred at around 10:30 am on Wednesday in Nepal, which caused severe casualties and left people unaccounted for at Gyirong border port in Gyirong county, Xinhua said.   

Three people have been found dead and 265 missing as of 8 pm on Wednesday after the mudslide that struck Gyirong county, Xigaze, in Xizang Autonomous Region on the day, according to the local authority of Xigaze. 

The exact casualty toll is still being verified, while rescue operations are underway, it said.

The publicity department of Xigaze said earlier on its WeChat account that at 10:59 am on Wednesday, a major disaster occurred in the Gyirong border port area of Gyirong county, Xigaze, due to a landslide on the Nepalese side of the border, resulting in casualties and people reported missing. 

It said that roads leading to Gyirong Port on the Chinese side, as well as communications and power supplies, have been cut off.

Following the disaster, Xigaze immediately activated its emergency response mechanism and coordinated professional rescue forces to carry out urgent rescue and relief operations. Multiple professional rescue teams have been mobilized and are making their way to the affected area to conduct search-and-rescue operations. 

Gyirong Port is a major land port connecting China and Nepal. 

Chen Xi of the Gyirong border defense unit under the Xigaze Military Sub-command told the Global Times on Wednesday that contact with Gyirong Port has still not been established as of press time on Wednesday. Drone reconnaissance showed that roads in the vicinity have been completely destroyed.

Efforts to reopen the roads are underway, and a second batch of rescue forces has arrived in Gyirong and is ready to deploy at any time, Chen said, noting that light rain is falling at the scene, raising the possibility of rising water levels. 

The surrounding mountains could collapse at any time, and there is also a risk of secondary mudslides, Chen added. 

Tenzin Norbu, head of the news division of the municipal publicity department of Xigaze in Xizang, told the Global Times earlier that the local government had dispatched personnel to the disaster-hit area, where communications had been cut off, and that he did not yet have a full picture of the situation on the ground.

Three people have been killed and 265 others remain missing as of 8 pm on August 26, 2026, according to initial estimates, after a mudslide struck a port along the China-Nepal border in Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. Following the disaster, China Anneng, under the unified coordination of the Ministry of Emergency Management, immediately activated its emergency response mechanism, rapidly coordinated and deployed emergency rescue forces. Photo: VCG

A total of 145 officers and soldiers from the Xigaze detachment of the People's Armed Police have been sent to the mudslide-hit border port to assist with emergency response operations, the Global Times learned from Xizang Corps of the Chinese People's Armed Police Force.  

Following the disaster, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Xizang Military Command immediately dispatched a forward command team to the affected area and mobilized emergency rescue forces. More than 130 personnel from a second rescue contingent of a unit under the Xigaze Military Subcommand, along with engineering vehicles and equipment, have been placed on standby for deployment, the Global Times learned from the command. 

The forces will make every effort to search for missing people, identify and address potential risks and hazards, and protect the lives and property of local residents, according to the command.

On Wednesday, China's national disaster prevention, reduction and relief authority, together with the Ministry of Emergency Management and the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, allocated 30,000 disaster-relief items to Gyirong county. 

Following the disaster, China's Ministry of Emergency Management immediately coordinated and deployed rescue and response efforts, sending a working group to the scene to assist with emergency operations, CCTV News reported on Wednesday. 

A total of 249 personnel from the national comprehensive fire and rescue force, along with 325 personnel from China Anneng and Power China and other engineering rescue teams, were dispatched to the disaster area with rescue equipment. 

The ministry also deployed equipment including emergency communications system and airborne magnetic detection system to provide technical support for communications, emergency response and rescue operations.

A second group of rescuers from the Xigaze Military Sub-command was expected to arrive at around 8:30 pm on Wednesday, bringing 15 command and transport vehicles, four pieces of engineering machinery, one field kitchen vehicle and one ambulance.

Additional supplies include more than 1,800 individual self-heating meal packs, over 40 tons of fuel and 40 boxes of canned food. Further rescue personnel and relief supplies have been prepared and will be dispatched to the disaster-hit area in stages.

Also, the Lhasa Mobile Fire and Rescue Detachment promptly mobilized a total of 155 personnel and 38 vehicles carrying more than 1,000 pieces of rescue equipment dispatched to the disaster area, the Global Times learned. 

Situation in Nepal

The Chinese Embassy in Nepal issued a notice on Wednesday that flash floods have struck the Gyirong-Rasuwa Port along the China-Nepal border in northern Nepal, prompting the embassy to activate its emergency response mechanism and assess the safety of Chinese nationals and businesses in the affected areas. 

The embassy renewed its safety advisory for Chinese nationals and organizations in Nepal, urging them to closely monitor weather forecasts, early-warning information and road conditions, and to avoid areas particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, including mountain valleys, riverbanks and low-lying areas prone to flooding.

Chinese nationals were also advised to avoid unnecessary travel to mountainous, waterside or remote areas with limited communications, and to follow instructions from local authorities in the event of an emergency, according to the embassy. 

Chinese companies and organizations were urged to strengthen workplace safety measures, identify potential hazards, prepare emergency supplies and improve their disaster-response capabilities to protect lives and property.

At least 95 people were killed and 484 others remain missing in a massive flash flood in north Nepal on Wednesday, the Office of the Prime Minister said, per Xinhua.
Among the missing are 391 foreign tourists and 93 Nepali nationals, the office said in a statement. As per the Nepal Tourism Board record, the missing foreign nationals include 134 Indians, 47 Americans, 33 British and 34 Australians.