Explainer: What challenges await rescuers in China's Xizang border mudslide?

GYIRONG, Xizang -- Rescue forces have been quickly deployed to a mudslide-hit port along the China-Nepal border in Southwest China's Xizang autonomous region, but relief operations remain severely hampered by complex and dangerous conditions on the ground.

Official figures show that a fast-moving chain mudslide, triggered by a high-altitude glacier collapse on the Nepalese side, swept through Gyirong Port on Wednesday morning. As of 8 am on Thursday, three people had been killed, 558 remained missing, while two local villagers had been rescued.

Xinhua reporters at the scene said the mudslide had devastated the river valley below. The silt layer in the core disaster area is more than 1.5 meters deep, posing a high risk of trapping anyone caught in it.

Chinese rescue teams mobilized swiftly to the remote mountainous border region. The first contingent of 141 emergency rescuers reached Gyirong Port on Thursday morning. Another 111 members of China's national search and rescue team arrived in Gyirong county by 2:28 pm Thursday.

The People's Liberation Army Xizang Military Command has deployed two batches of military helicopters to conduct aerial assessments, map rescue flight routes and carry out intensive searches, while also ferrying medical and rescue equipment to the affected area.

Despite these efforts, rescuers on site say operations are extremely challenging due to several factors.

The first is the risk of secondary disasters. The meteorological department forecasts light to moderate rain or thunderstorms across most of Gyirong county from Wednesday night to Sunday, with heavy rain in some southern low-altitude towns. These downpours could trigger flash floods, mudslides and landslides in vulnerable areas, potentially disrupting rescue work.

The county authorities have also warned that a barrier lake, formed upstream of the port by the glacier collapse, sits in an unstable geological setting and could breach, endangering rescue operations downstream.

The second obstacle is damaged road infrastructure. Local authorities said a road about three kilometers from the site was destroyed by the mudslide, delaying rescue access and slowing response efforts.

The third challenge is the temporary loss of contact with the disaster zone. In the immediate aftermath, communications and power supply were cut off, leaving the situation in the core area unknown for a time.

By around 4 pm Thursday, communication signals were restored in a village three kilometers from the port, marking phased progress in emergency communication support, authorities said.

The National Commission for Disaster Prevention, Reduction and Relief, together with the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM), helped allocate 30,000 central relief supplies, including tents, stoves, clothing, quilts, folding beds and moisture-proof mats, to support evacuation, resettlement and relief work.

The Ministry of Finance and the MEM also allocated 120 million yuan (about $17.7 million) in central natural disaster relief funds to support Xizang in carrying out emergency rescue and disaster relief operations.

Governments at all levels in Xizang and relevant departments have promptly organized disaster prevention efforts and risk avoidance measures, and have properly relocated and resettled those under threat.

A total of 499 villagers and construction workers have been properly accommodated. Meanwhile, 555 affected tourists were evacuated and transferred under the coordination of cultural and tourism authorities. No tourists remain stranded.