Search and rescue personnel head to disaster-hit areas in Gyirong, Xigaze to carry out rescue operations on August 28, 2026. Photo: CCTV News

Rescue and relief efforts following a deadly mudslide at the Gyirong Port in Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region caused by high-altitude glacier ice avalanche in Nepal have made further progress, with 499 people affected by the disaster relocated and 555 stranded tourists transferred to safety as of Friday morning, and road and communication repairs accelerated, according to CCTV News.

As of 10 am on Friday, a total of 681 personnel and 113 vehicles from China's national comprehensive fire and rescue forces had been dispatched to the disaster site, according to the National Fire and Rescue Administration.


Authorities have also allocated 6,612 pieces or sets of rescue equipment and comprehensive support supplies across 19 categories and three major types, which have been sent to Gyirong.

Meanwhile, 13 categories of protective, rescue and operational support supplies arrived in Gyirong at around 5 am on Friday, including a large quantity of daily necessities such as highland barley, rice, flour, cooking oil, drinking water, instant folding beds, and generators.

Officers and soldiers from the Xigaze detachment of the Chinese People's Armed Police Force worked through the night to load and transport disaster relief supplies. They have moved more than 450 sets of tents to help meet the needs of affected people at temporary shelters.

Rescuers are conducting a comprehensive search for missing people through land, water and air operations.

According to the rescue operation plan, three specialized rescue teams have been established, carrying out search and rescue operations using inflatable boats along waterways, trekking on foot across mountainous terrain, and deploying drones for aerial search and supply delivery.

Forward teams have also been dispatched to conduct mapping, reconnaissance and fixed-point monitoring in the core disaster area and around the barrier lake using drones and telescopes, and 13 experts from the Shanghai Fire Research Institute of MEM have safely arrived at the disaster area to support rescue operations.

At around 8 am on Friday, a land search-and-rescue team arrived at a forward assembly point in Labi village, Sale township, carrying lightweight rescue equipment and satellite communications gear toward the core area of Gyirong Port, conducting searches for missing people and checking for potential hazards along the route. Additional teams remain on standby for reinforcement.

About 70 personnel in the first rescue and emergency response group were working to clear roads and remove silt about 3 kilometers from Gyirong Port when they were informed that the barrier body was at risk of breaching. A breach could potentially trigger secondary disasters, including landslides and avalanches.

All personnel and vehicles involved in the road-clearing operation have since withdrawn to a safe area and are standing by.

Chen Hongqi, an engineer with the Geological Disaster Technical Guidance Center under the Ministry of Natural Resources, said rescue operations face major challenges due to the narrow access routes, which make it difficult for heavy machinery to advance, as well as the destabilizing impact of high-speed mountain floods and mudflows on riverbanks and roadbeds, per CCTV News.

Global Times